Event-related media management system

ABSTRACT

An event-related media management system contextualizes media content. The event-related media management system associates media content with contextual event-related data to associate the media content with the events and information about the events. The contextual event-related data can then be used to provide access to the media content, such as through relevant search results or by presenting the media content in organized displays for contextual browsing and navigation. In some embodiments the event-related media management system generates contextualized media content for contextual search, discovery, and advertising.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/469,136, filed on Mar. 24, 2017, and titled EVENT-RELATED MEDIAMANAGEMENT SYSTEM, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/283,281, filed on Sep. 30, 2016, and titled EVENT-RELATEDMEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No.9,477,744, U.S. Ser. No. 14/944,211, filed on Nov. 18, 2015, and titledEVENT-RELATED MEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, which is a Continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/274,199, filed on May 9, 2014, and titledEVENT-RELATED MEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/914,955, filed on Dec. 11, 2013, andtitled EVENT-RELATED MEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM; and to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/902,128, filed on Nov. 8, 2013, and titledEVENT-RELATED MEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM; and to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/882,635, filed on Sep. 26, 2013, and titledEVENT-RELATED MEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM; and to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/827,554, filed on May 24, 2013, and titledEVENT-RELATED MEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM; and to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/822,289, filed on May 10, 2013, and titledEVENT-RELATED MEDIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. To the extentappropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above-disclosedapplications.

BACKGROUND

The proliferation of digital and mobile technology permits people togenerate a large volume of digital content. At an event, for example,many people will use their smartphones to take pictures or videos of theevent, and may post messages relating to the event through a socialmedia system. Such digital content is largely disorganized and lackingin contextual information. As a result, it is difficult for people tofind and use the digital content.

SUMMARY

In general terms, this disclosure is directed to a media managementsystem. In one possible configuration and by non-limiting example, themedia management system manages media that is related to specificevents. Various aspects are described in this disclosure, which include,but are not limited to, the following aspects.

One aspect is a method of generating intelligent media content forcontextual search, discovery, and advertising, the method comprising:storing event-related data associated with a plurality of eventsincluding a first event; receiving media content items, the mediacontent items including a first media content item; identifyingcontextual information associated with the first media content itemusing a computing device; identifying one of the events to which themedia content item relates using the contextual information; tagging theevent to the first media content item; comparing the contextualinformation to the event-related data for the identified event; andtagging at least some of the event-related data to the first mediacontent item based at least in part on the comparison of the contextualinformation to the event-related data.

Another aspect is a system for generating intelligent media content forcontextual search, discover, and advertising, the system comprising: atleast one processing device; and at least one computer readable storagedevice, the at least one computer readable storage device storing datainstructions, which when executed by the processing device, cause theprocessing device to: store event-related data associated with aplurality of events including a first event; receive media contentitems, the media content items including a first media content item;identify contextual information associated with the first media contentitem; identify one of the events to which the media content item relatesusing the contextual information; tag the event to the first mediacontent item; compare the contextual information to the event-relateddata for the identified event; and tag at least some of theevent-related data to the first media content item based at least inpart on the comparison of the contextual information to theevent-related data.

A further aspect is a method of documenting an event, the methodcomprising: generating general event information including generalinformation about the event; identifying discrete actions that occurduring the event; generating, using a computing device, discrete actiondata items for the discrete actions that occur during the event; andstoring time stamps for the discrete action data.

Another aspect is a system for documenting an event, the systemcomprising: at least one processing device; and at least one computerreadable storage device, the at least one computer readable storagedevice storing data instructions, which when executed by the processingdevice, cause the processing device to: generate general eventinformation including general information about the event; identifydiscrete actions that occur during the event; generate discrete actiondata items for the discrete actions that occur during the event; andstore time stamps for the discrete action data.

A further aspect is a method of navigating through media content itemsassociated with an event, the method comprising: storing a plurality ofmedia content items associated with an event; generating a volume graphdisplay using a computing device, the volume graph display graphicallydepicting a magnitude of one or more aspects of an event over time;receiving an input from a user, the input identifying at least one pointin the volume graph display associated with at least one range of times;and generating a display including media content items associated withthe at least one range of times.

Yet another aspect is a system for navigation through media contentitems associated with an event, the system comprising: at least oneprocessing device; and at least one computer readable storage device,the at least one computer readable storage device storing datainstructions, which when executed by the processing device, cause theprocessing device to: store a plurality of media content itemsassociated with an event; generate a volume graph display the volumegraph display graphically depicting a magnitude of one or more aspectsof an event over time; receive an input from a user, the inputidentifying at least one point in the volume graph display associatedwith at least one range of times; and generate a display including mediacontent items associated with the at least one range of times.

Another aspect is a method of displaying event information for an eventhaving a plurality of scored segments, the method comprising: generatinga graphical representation of a scoreboard with a computing device, thescoreboard including multiple scored segment displays associated withthe scored segments of the event; receiving an input into the graphicalrepresentation of the scoreboard, the input selecting one of the scoredsegment displays; and displaying information associated with the scoredsegment of the event.

A further aspect is a method of filtering information associated with anevent, the method comprising: prompting a user to enter one or morefilter criteria associated with an event and receiving the filtercriteria using a computing device; generating a timeline display of theinformation filtered according to the filter criteria; generating analternate view of the timeline display, while continuing to filter theinformation according to the filter criteria.

Yet a further aspect is a method of segmenting an event, the methodcomprising: receiving an event feed identifying a plurality of discreteaction data items using a computing device; identifying a set of thediscrete action items; defining event segments including a first eventsegment, the first event segment being defined based on the set ofdiscrete action items; and identifying a set of the event segmentsassociated with a scored segment of the event.

Another aspect is a method of filtering information associated with asports game, the method comprising: receiving one or more filtercriteria associated with a sports game; displaying sports gameinformation in a chronological order in a user interface using acomputing device; displaying a time indicator in the user interface, thetime indicator displaying the chronological time of the informationpresently displayed in the user interface; receiving an input into thetime indicator; and filtering the sports game information according tothe filter criteria.

Another aspect is a method of automatically tagging sport-relatedcontent, the method comprising: generating a media content cardincluding media content using a computing device; time stamping themedia content card with a time; identifying an event segment occurringat the time identified by the time stamp; and tagging the media contentcard with a plurality of tags associated with the event segment.

A further aspect is any one or more of the systems or methodsillustrated or described herein.

Yet another aspect is an event-related media management system asdescribed herein.

A further aspect is an event-related user interaction system operatingon a computing device as described herein.

Yet a further aspect is an event-related media management system servercomputing device as described herein.

Another aspect is a method of certifying media content cards asillustrated in FIG. 21.

A further aspect is a method of contextualizing media content, themethod comprising: receiving media content; processing the media contentusing a computing device to associate the media content with contextualevent-related data; and providing access to the media content using thecontextual event-related data.

Another aspect is a method of retroactively converting a media contentdatabase to contextualize the media content contained therein, themethod comprising: obtaining data associated with the media content;processing the media content using a computing device to associate themedia content with contextual event-related data using the data; andassociating the media items with contextual event-related data.

Yet another aspect is an event data feed comprising: action data itemsidentifying discrete actions occurring during the event; and time stampscontained in the event data and associated with the discrete actions.

Yet a further aspect is an event data feed comprising: action data itemsidentifying discrete actions occurring during a video production;transcript data associated with the discrete actions; and time stampscontained in the event data and associated with the discrete actions.

Another aspect is a computing device comprising: a processing device; adata communication device configured to communicate across a datacommunication network; and a computer readable storage device, thecomputer readable storage device storing data instructions, which whenexecuted by the processing device, cause the processing device togenerate and send an event data feed across the data communicationnetwork using the communication device, the event data feed comprising:action data items identifying discrete actions occurring during theevent; and time stamps contained in the event data and associated withthe discrete actions.

A further aspect is a computing device comprising: a processing device;a data communication device configured to communicate across a datacommunication network; and a computer readable storage device, thecomputer readable storage device storing data instructions, which whenexecuted by the processing device, cause the processing device togenerate and send an event data feed across the data communicationnetwork using the communication device, the event data feed comprising:action data items identifying discrete actions occurring during a videoproduction; transcript data associated with the discrete actions; andtime stamps contained in the event data and associated with the discreteactions.

Yet another aspect is a method of contextualizing media content, themethod comprising: storing event-related data associated with an event;receiving a media content item relating to the event; identifyingcontextual information associated with the media content; comparing,using a computing device, the contextual information to theevent-related data to identify a relationship between the event-relateddata and the media content item; associating the media content item withthe event according to the identified relationship; and associating themedia content item with at least some of the event-related dataaccording to the identified relationship.

Another aspect is a system comprising: at least one processing device;and at least one computer readable storage device, the at least onecomputer readable storage device storing data instructions, which whenexecuted by the processing device, cause the processing device to:generate a graphical representation of a scoreboard, the scoreboardincluding multiple scored segment displays associated with the scoredsegments of the event; receive an input into the graphicalrepresentation of the scoreboard, the input selecting one of the scoredsegment displays; and display information associated with the scoredsegment of the event.

A further aspect is a system comprising: at least one processing device;and at least one computer readable storage device, the at least onecomputer readable storage device storing data instructions, which whenexecuted by the processing device, cause the processing device to:prompt a user to enter one or more filter criteria associated with anevent and receiving the filter criteria; generate a timeline display ofthe information filtered according to the filter criteria; generate analternate view of the timeline display, while continuing to filter theinformation according to the filter criteria.

Yet another aspect is a system comprising: at least one processingdevice; and at least one computer readable storage device, the at leastone computer readable storage device storing data instructions, whichwhen executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to:receive an event feed identifying a plurality of discrete action dataitems; identify a set of the discrete action items; define eventsegments including a first event segment, the first event segment beingdefined based on the set of discrete action items; and identify a set ofthe event segments associated with a scored segment of the event.

Another aspect is a system comprising: at least one processing device;and at least one computer readable storage device, the at least onecomputer readable storage device storing data instructions, which whenexecuted by the processing device, cause the processing device to:receive one or more filter criteria associated with a sports game;display sports game information in a chronological order in a userinterface; display a time indicator in the user interface, the timeindicator displaying the chronological time of the information presentlydisplayed in the user interface; receive an input into the timeindicator; and filter the sports game information according to thefilter criteria.

A further aspect is a system comprising: at least one processing device;and at least one computer readable storage device, the at least onecomputer readable storage device storing data instructions, which whenexecuted by the processing device, cause the processing device to:generate a media content card including media content; time stamp themedia content card with a time; identify an event segment occurring atthe time identified by the time stamp; and tag the media content cardwith a plurality of tags associated with the event segment.

Yet another aspect is a system comprising: at least one processingdevice; and at least one computer readable storage device, the at leastone computer readable storage device storing data instructions, whichwhen executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to:receiving media content; processing the media content to associate themedia content with contextual event-related data; and providing accessto the media content using the contextual event-related data.

A further aspect is a system comprising: at least one processing device;and at least one computer readable storage device, the at least onecomputer readable storage device storing data instructions, which whenexecuted by the processing device, cause the processing device to:obtain data associated with media content of a media content database;process the media content to retroactively associate the media contentwith contextual event-related data using the data; and associate themedia items with contextual event-related data.

Another aspect is a system for contextualizing media content, the systemcomprising: at least one processing device; and at least one computerreadable storage device, the at least one computer readable storagedevice storing data instructions, which when executed by the processingdevice, cause the processing device to: store event-related dataassociated with an event; receive a media content item relating to theevent; identify contextual information associated with the mediacontent; compare the contextual information to the event-related data toidentify a relationship between the event-related data and the mediacontent item; associate the media content item with the event accordingto the identified relationship; and associate the media content itemwith at least some of the event-related data according to the identifiedrelationship.

Yet another aspect is a system for contextualizing media content, themethod comprising: means for receiving media content; means forprocessing the media content to associate the media content withcontextual event-related data; and means for providing access to themedia content using the contextual event-related data.

A further aspect is a system for media content navigation, the systemcomprising: means for storing media content associated with an event;means for displaying a volume graph display; means for receiving aninput into the volume graph display; and means for navigating to anddisplaying relevant media content items of the media content using theinput.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example event-related mediamanagement system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example ofevent-related data.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a discreteaction data feed, such as transmitted from an event-related data feedprovider to a server.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of theserver.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a computing device thatcan be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary method ofprocessing an event data feed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example structure of adata store of the event-related media management system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a computing deviceincluding an example of an event-related user interaction system.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a media captureengine of the event-related user interaction system shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the operation of amedia recorder.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a computing device and a mediarecorder interface.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an operation of acard generator.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a computing device and an example of acard generator interface.

FIG. 14 (including FIGS. 14A-14C) illustrates an exemplary method ofassigning an icon to a card.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary operations performed by atagging engine.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a computing device and an example ofan event selection interface.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a computing device and an example ofan event segment selection interface.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example event venue of a baseball field.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example event venue of a golf course.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example event venue of a half pipe.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating a method of certifying mediacontent cards.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of a certified media content card.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of an uncertified media content card.

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the contentinteraction engine of an example event-related user interaction system.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a scoreboard display.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of a multi-event interactive scoreboarddisplay.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a general timeline display.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of an event timeline display.

FIG. 29 illustrates an example of a scoreboard navigation feature, aswell as additional details of the event timeline display shown in FIG.28.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example of multiple different timeline views thatare available in some embodiments.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example search filter definition display, such asprovided by a search filter definition engine.

FIG. 32 illustrates additional search editing functionality that isprovided in some embodiments.

FIG. 33 is a screen shot of another example of an event timeline displayincluding navigation controls.

FIG. 34 is a screen shot of the example event timeline display of FIG.33 after the navigation controls have disappeared.

FIG. 35 is a screen shot of the example event timeline display of FIG.33 after the time indicator has disappeared from view.

FIG. 36 is another screen shot of the example event timeline display,and further illustrating a navigation menu.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart illustrating an example method ofcontextualizing media content.

FIG. 38 is a screen shot illustrating an example user interface forreceiving media content from a user.

FIG. 39 is another screen shot of the example user interface shown inFIG. 38.

FIG. 40 is another screen shot of the example user interface shown inFIG. 38.

FIG. 41 is schematic block diagram illustrating an example operation forprocessing media content to associate media content with contextualevent-related data.

FIG. 42 is a screen shot of an example display for displaying message amessage or other media content.

FIG. 43 is a screen shot of another example display for displaying amessage or other media content.

FIG. 44 is a screen shot of another example display for displaying amessage or other media content.

FIG. 45 is a screen shot of an example team profile display for a team.

FIG. 46 is a screen shot of another example of the team profile displayshown in FIG. 45.

FIG. 47 is a screen shot of an example player profile display.

FIG. 48 is a screen shot of another example of the player profiledisplay shown in FIG. 47.

FIG. 49 is a screen shot of an example group profile display.

FIG. 50 is a screen shot of another example group profile display.

FIG. 51 is a screen shot illustrating an example content volume displayincluding a content volume graph and a time scale.

FIG. 52 is a screen shot illustrating an example user interfaceincluding a content volume display.

FIG. 53 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a userinterface including a content volume display.

FIG. 54 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a userinterface including a content volume display.

FIG. 55 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a userinterface including a content volume display.

FIG. 56 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a userinterface including a content volume display.

FIG. 57 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a media contentdisplay.

FIG. 58 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a video productiontimeline, and more specifically an example of a timeline for a newsprogram.

FIG. 59 is a screen shot illustrating an example of an individual postassociated with a video production timeline.

FIG. 60 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline.

FIG. 61 is a screen shot illustrating another example of the timelineshown in FIG. 60, and further including additional event-relatedinformation.

FIG. 62 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline.

FIG. 63 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline.

FIG. 64 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline.

FIG. 65 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts andassemblies throughout the several views. Reference to variousembodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto.Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are notintended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possibleembodiments for the appended claims.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes an event-relatedmedia management system 100, which operates to receive and store mediaassociated with one or more events, and to subsequently provide accessto that media. In some embodiments, the event-related media managementsystem 100 operates to capture and permanently record moments of anevent with multimedia content, such as pictures, video, audio, andtext-based reactions to or of the event. In this way a permanenthistorical record of the event is created.

One example of an event is a sports game. The following disclosurediscusses in detail a specific example embodiment involving baseballgames. Other examples are also discussed, and the principles describedherein are understood to be relevant to a wide range of possible events.In some embodiments, an event includes a series of actions that occur ina chronological order, which can be captured in some form of media, suchas a photograph, video, audio, or text media. Several specific examplesof suitable events include sports games, musical or other artisticperformances, social events, historical events, or other events. Someexamples of sports games include team sports and individual sports. Someexamples of team sports include baseball, football, soccer, hockey,basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, rugby, water polo, cricket, andultimate frisbee. Some examples of individual sports include golf,skiing, motor sports, track and field, tennis, boxing, wrestling, horseracing, figure skating, and bowling. Additional examples include Olympicsports. Sports can be any one of a variety of levels including amateur,junior, high school, collegiate, semi-professional, and professionallevels. Several examples of social events include a wedding, a familyreunion, and a birthday party. Several examples of historical eventsinclude a war or battle, a period in which a particular political leaderis in office, and a civil rights movement. Therefore, at least some ofthe aspects and principles according to the present disclosure arewidely applicable to a variety of different types of events.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example event-related mediamanagement system 100. In this example, the event-related mediamanagement system 100 includes a media management server 102 and datastore 104, a data communication network 106, an event-related data feedprovider 108, user computing devices 110, and other associated systems112.

In some embodiments, the system 100 interacts with users U, includingfor example an attendee user A and a non-attendee user N. The attendeeuser A is present at an event venue V where an event will take place.The non-attendee user N is located somewhere else away from the eventvenue V. The users U interact with the system 100 through computingdevices 110, which can be mobile computing devices or otherless-portable computing devices. The computing devices 110 provide anevent-related user interaction system 111, in some embodiments.

The example event shown in FIG. 1 is a baseball game, and accordinglythe event venue V is a baseball stadium. The attendee user A is presentin the event venue V as a spectator, for example. As discussed above,other embodiments involve other events, and other event venues.

The event-related media management system 100 operates to capture mediarelating to the event and store that media in the data store 104. Forexample, event-related data 114 is provided to the server 102 by theevent-related data feed provider 108, in some embodiments. Examples ofthe event-related data 114 feeds are discussed in greater detail hereinwith reference to FIGS. 2-3. As one example, the event-related data feedprovider 108 provides general information regarding the event to theserver 102, such as the teams that are playing, the players on theteams, etc., and also includes a discrete action data feed that providesdetails of discrete actions that take place during the game, such as apitch, a strikeout, and a home run, for example. In some embodiments,the discrete action data feed includes time stamps that identify thetimes at which the particular actions take place during the event.

Additionally, media content is provided to the server 102 by the users Uthrough the event-related user interaction system 111 on the computingdevices 110. For example, the attendee user A at the event venue V usesthe mobile computing device 120 to capture media content during thegame, such as a photograph of a player hitting a home run. Examples ofmedia content include a picture, a video, an audio recording, or atext-based message. Additionally, media content can also be provided bythe non-attendee user N.

The server 102 acts as the central management system for theevent-related media management system 100 in some embodiments. Forexample, in some embodiments the server 102 receives the event-relateddata 114 feed from the event-related data feed provider 108, as well asthe media content from the event-related user interaction system 111 andthe computing devices 110. The data and media content are processed andstored in the data store 104. For example, in some embodiments theserver 102 matches the media content with the event to which it relates,and to a particular segment of the event.

In some embodiments the server 102 also distributes the media content tothe computing devices 110 to permit the users U to view the mediacontent. In some embodiments, the media content is arranged in achronological order and presented in a timeline by the event-relateduser interaction system 111 on the computing devices 110 where the usersU can interact with the media content. Examples of the server 102 areillustrated and described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4-5.

A data store 104 is provided in some embodiments to store dataassociated with the event. Examples of such data include event-relateddata 114 obtained from the event-related data feed provider 108 andmedia content received from the computing devices 110 (includingcomputing devices 120 and 122). The data store is or includes one ormore computer-readable data storage devices that can be part of theserver 102, or separate from but in data communication with the server102. In some embodiments the data store includes multiple data storagedevices, which can be distributed across multiple locations. In someembodiments the data store 104 is a cloud storage system.

In some embodiments, the event-related media management system 100communicates across a network 106. The network can include one or moreof the Internet, a local area network, a cellular or other telephonenetwork, or other suitable data communication networks. Datacommunication can occur across physical wires or cables, or wirelesslythrough radio or other electromagnetic communication techniques, orvarious combinations of these, for example. Some embodiments include apCell™ network including one or more pWaves wireless devices, as part ofthe network 106. Some embodiments include a mesh network, such as usingthe iOS Multipeer Connectivity framework.

Some embodiments include or interact with one or more other associatedsystems 112. Examples include a payment processor 130, a third-partysocial media system 132, a media and broadcast network 134, and a searchengine system 135. The associated systems can be third-party systems ormay be part of, or commonly owned and operated by, the event-relatedmedia management system 100, including the server 102, for example. Morespecifically, the third-party social media system 132 can alternativelynot be a social media system that is not operated by a third-party, andmay be parts of the same or associated systems in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the payment processor 130 handles payments made byusers. The payments can be made for a subscription to the event-relatedmedia management system 100, for example, or to unlock additionalfeatures of the system, such as advanced searching, enhanced mediafiltering tools, or premium tags such as special multimedia icons.

One or more social media systems 132 can be used in the event-relatedmedia management system as an input source of media content, or can beused to receive media items and/or contextual event-related dataassociated with the media items. Examples of social media systems 132include Facebook™, Twitter™, Instagram™, Pinterest™ Youtube™, Vine™, andother social media systems.

Some embodiments include or interact with one or more search enginesystems 135. Examples of search engine systems 135 include Google™,Yahoo™, Bing™, YouTube™, Vine™, Siri™, Google™ Now™, OK Google™, andMicrosoft™ Cortana™.

In some embodiments the event-related media management system includesor interacts with one or more analytics or data mining engines.Analytics can be used for advertising, for example, as discussed infurther detail herein, or for other purposes, such as evaluating generaltrends or interests across a population of users.

FIGS. 2-3 illustrate examples of the event-related data 114 feed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of theevent-related data 114, such as provided by the event-related data feedprovider 108 to the server 102 in some embodiments. In this example, theevent-related data 114 includes general event information 152 anddiscrete action data 154.

The general event information 152 includes general information about theevent. In some embodiments, the general event information 152 includesinformation regarding the event such as the names of the teams or groupsparticipating, the names of the players or participants, detailsregarding the event venue and location, a schedule for the event, eventstatistics, and the like. In some embodiments, the general eventinformation 152 includes one or more of the data feeds listed inTable 1. Other possible embodiments include more, fewer, or other datafeeds.

TABLE 1 Data Feed Description Daily Box Score top-level runs, hits anderrors by team, as well as details on run-scoring events for each gameoccurring that day Daily Event Info & the date, time, location and teamlineups for a specific game Lineups Daily Schedule the date, time andlocation for every game, for the day Event Info & Lineups the date,time, location and team lineups for a specific game Game Box Scoretop-level runs, hits and errors by team, as well as details onrun-scoring events Game Statistics detailed game stats at the player andteam level, including pitching and batting breakouts Glossary full textdescriptions for pitch ids, player status ids, outcome ids, and gamestatus ids League Schedule the date, time and location for each gamePlayer Profiles high level player information not directly associated toa particular team Player Seasonal season-to-date stats at the playerlevel, including pitching and Statistics batting breakouts Rolling 3 DaySchedule the date, time and location for each game for yesterday, today,and tomorrow Standings top-level standings information including team,league, division, wins, and losses Team Hierarchy the name, market,league, division and venue for each team Team Rosters (Active) playerinformation for active players associated with each team Team Rosters(Full) player information for all players associated with each team TeamSeasonal Statistics detailed season-to-date stats at the team level,including pitching and batting breakouts Venue Info the name andlocation of each venue, along with the dimensions of each field

In some embodiments the event-related data 114 includes discrete actiondata 154. In some embodiments, the discrete action data 154 providesplay-by-play (or action-by-action) details regarding the event. Further,in some embodiments the discrete action data is streamed live as areal-time data feed. The real-time data feed is provided shortly afteran action has occurred during the event, such as within 30 seconds,within 15 seconds, within 10 seconds, or within 5 seconds, for example.In some embodiments, such as in the baseball game example, theplay-by-play information can include information on each pitch and onevery play that occurs during the game. In some embodiments the datafeed is not real-time, but is near real-time. An example of nearreal-time is longer than real-time, such as more than 30 seconds afterthe event has occurred, but within several hours of the event, or withinseveral days of the event. In other embodiments, the discrete actiondata is not real-time, such as being historical data describing eventsthat happened more than several days in the past.

In some embodiments the discrete action data 154 includes one or more ofthe data items listed in Table 2. Other possible embodiments includemore, fewer, or other data items.

TABLE 2 Data Item Format At bat description String At bat player id GUIDBase runner-ending base Integer Base runner-outcome id String Baserunner-player id GUID Base runner-starting base Integer Count-BallsInteger Count-Outs Integer Count-Pitch count for batter IntegerCount-Strikes Integer Inning Integer Game id GUID Game status StringInning half String Home team id GUID Insert Date/Time Date/timeLineup-Batting position Integer Lineup-Position Integer Lineup-Lineup idGUID Lineup-Player id GUID Lineup-Team id GUID Losing pitcher GUID Pitchcount for the game Integer Pitch flag-At bat Boolean Pitch flag-At batover Boolean Pitch flag-Batter hit Boolean Pitch flag-Bunt shown BooleanPitch flag-Double play Boolean Pitch flag-Passed ball Boolean Pitchflag-Runner on base Boolean Pitch flag-Wild pitch Boolean Pitch id GUIDPitch location-x coordinate Decimal Pitch location-y coordinate DecimalPitch outcome id String Pitch type String Pitcher earning save GUIDPitcher id GUID Player id GUID Updated date/time Date/time Visiting teamid GUID Winning pitcher GUID

One example of a suitable event-related data feed provider 108 is thedata feed service provided by SportsData LLC of St. Paul, Minn.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of thediscrete action data 154 feed, such as transmitted from theevent-related data feed provider 108 to the server 102. In this example,the discrete action data 154 includes a stream of action data items 162(including action data items 164, 166, and 168) and time stamps 172(including time stamps 174, 176, and 178).

The action data items 162 define a discrete action that has occurredduring the event. Examples of action data items 162 are provided inTable 2 above for an exemplary baseball event, such as describing theoccurrence of a pitch, the result of the pitch, players involved in aplay, the result of the play, etc. Other sports have their own discreteset of actions that can occur, which can be recorded and providedthrough the discrete action data 154 feed. As another example, in amusic concert event, the action data items can include details regardingthe songs that are performed, the musicians involved, special effectsthat occur, a drum solo, or any other discrete action that isdocumentable during the event.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, a first action data item 164 is providedat a certain time (e.g., time t1). The action data item 164 includesdata that identifies the discrete action that has occurred during theevent, and a time stamp 174 indicating the time that that actionoccurred. Multiple action data items 164 can be sent at a single time(time t1) to describe multiple actions that occurred at that time (e.g.,a strike is pitched, and the batter is struck out).

Additional action data items 162 are sent as they occur, including anaction data item 166 that is sent at time t2 and action data item 168that is sent at time t3. Although three action data items are shown inFIG. 3, the discrete action data 154 feed can include many more actiondata items 162 as appropriate. In some embodiments, each of the actiondata items 166, 168 includes a time stamp 176, 178 identifying the timeat which the corresponding discrete action occurred during the event.Discrete action items can include multiple time stamps, such astimestamps indicating start and end times for the discrete actions. Thestart and stop times can be used, for example, to identify a range oftimes during which the discrete action occurred. As discussed herein,the range of times can be compared with a time stamp associated with amedia content item to match the media content item with a discreteaction that occurred at that time, for example.

FIGS. 4-5 illustrate examples of the server 102.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of theserver 102. In this example, the server includes an event data feedhandler 202, a media content handler 204, a matching engine 206, and acontent supply engine 208.

The event data feed handler 202 receives and processes the event-relateddata 114, such as provided by the event-related data feed provider 108.In some embodiments, the event data feed handler 202 includes an eventdata feed handling engine 212 and a data feed processing engine 214.

The event data feed handling engine 212 handles communications with theevent-related data feed provider 108. For example, in some embodimentsthe event data feed handling engine operates according to datacommunication protocols to receive the event-related data 114.

Once the event-related data 114 is received it is processed by the datafeed processing engine 214. In some embodiments, the event-related data114 is filtered and parsed according to predetermined rules. One exampleof the processing performed by the data feed processing engine 214 isillustrated and described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5.

The media content handler 204 receives and processes media content, suchas from one or more computing devices 110. In some embodiments, themedia content handler 204 includes a media content input handling engine218 and a card generator 220.

The media content input handling engine 218 handles communication withthe computing devices 110 to receive media content. In some embodimentsthe media content input handling engine 218 provides a web-pageinterface through one or more URL's through which the computing devices110 can provide media content. In some embodiments the media contentinput handling engine 218 also or alternatively provides one or moreapplication programming interfaces (API) through which communication canoccur between the computing devices 110 and the server 102. Otherembodiments communicate in other ways.

The card generator 220 operates to store the media content in the datastore 104 in a form referred to herein as a media content card, forsubsequent distribution by the content supply engine 208 to be displayedon the computing devices 110. Examples of media content cards areillustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23. In some embodiments a card includes atleast one of: a type of non-text media content (e.g., video, audio, or aphotograph), text content, and an icon. In some embodiments cards arealso time stamped, as discussed in further detail herein. Examples ofcard generation are illustrated and described in more detail withreference to FIGS. 12-14.

The matching engine 222 is provided in some embodiments to match cardsand media content from the media content handler 204 with the actionsoccurring during an event as identified by the event data feed handler202. As one example, a time stamp of a card generated by the mediacontent handler 204 is compared with one or more time stamps associatedwith actions during the event. In some embodiments the matching engine206 automatically associates the card with one or more actions thatoccurred at that time. In other embodiments, the user is prompted toselect an action, and the matching action determines whether the cardtime stamp matches a range of times associated with the selected action.Matching of cards to events and event segments is illustrated anddescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 15-17.

Event-related data and media content data are stored by the server 102in the data store 104 (shown in FIG. 1). An example of the data store104 is illustrated and described in more detail herein with reference toFIG. 7.

After event-related data and media content have been stored in the datastore 104 (FIG. 1), the content supply engine 208 operates to send thatdata to mobile computing devices 110 for display to the users. In someembodiments, for example, event-related data 114 is used to generatetimelines. Cards, generated by the card generator 220, are displayed inthe timeline to arrange the media content in a chronological order. Sometimelines are associated with a particular event, which permits the userto view the media items for that event in the chronological order.Examples of the data supplied by the content supply engine 208 areillustrated and described in more detail with reference to the contentinteraction engine 432 shown in FIG. 24.

A search filter engine 224 is provided in some embodiments to receivesearch requests, defined by users, and to filter the content that isdisplayed to the user in the timelines. The search filter engine 224 canbe used to filter by keywords, types of media items, types of actions,etc. Examples of the operation of the search filter engine 224 areillustrated and described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 31-32.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a computing device thatcan be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure, includingany of the: server 102, computing devices 110 (including computingdevice 120 or computing device 122), the event-related data feedprovider 108, and the other associated systems 112 (including thepayment processor 130, third-party social media systems 132, and mediaand broadcast networks 134). The computing device illustrated in FIG. 5can be used to execute the operating system, application programs, andsoftware modules (including any one or more of the engines) describedherein. By way of example, the computing device will be described belowas the server 102 computing device. To avoid undue repetition, thisdescription of the computing device will not be separately repeatedherein for each of the other computing devices, including those listedabove, but such devices can also be configured as illustrated anddescribed with reference to FIG. 5, or in a similar manner.

The server 102 computing device includes, in some embodiments, at leastone processing device 240, such as a central processing unit (CPU). Avariety of processing devices are available from a variety ofmanufacturers, for example, Intel or Advanced Micro Devices. In thisexample, the server 102 computing device also includes a system memory242, and a system bus 244 that couples various system componentsincluding the system memory 242 to the processing device 240. The systembus 244 is one of any number of types of bus structures including amemory bus, or memory controller; a peripheral bus; and a local bususing any of a variety of bus architectures.

Examples of computing devices suitable for the server 102 computingdevice or other computing devices described herein include a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile computingdevice (such as a smart phone, an iPod® or iPad® mobile digital device,or other mobile devices), or other devices configured to process digitalinstructions.

The system memory 242 includes read only memory 246 and random accessmemory 248. A basic input/output system 250 containing the basicroutines that act to transfer information within the server 102computing device, such as during start up, is typically stored in theread only memory 246.

The server 102 computing device also includes a secondary storage device252 in some embodiments, such as a hard disk drive, for storing digitaldata. The secondary storage device 252 is connected to the system bus244 by a secondary storage interface 254. The secondary storage devices252 and their associated computer readable media provide nonvolatilestorage of computer readable instructions (including applicationprograms and program modules), data structures, and other data for theserver 102 computing device.

Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard diskdrive as a secondary storage device, other types of computer readablestorage media are used in other embodiments. Examples of these othertypes of computer readable storage media include magnetic cassettes,flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, compactdisc read only memories, digital versatile disk read only memories,random access memories, or read only memories. Some embodiments includenon-transitory media. Additionally, such computer readable storage mediacan include local storage or cloud-based storage.

A number of program modules can be stored in secondary storage device252 or memory 242, including an operating system 256, one or moreapplication programs 258, other program modules 260 (such as thesoftware engines described herein), and program data 262. The server 102computing device can utilize any suitable operating system, such asMicrosoft Windows™, Google Chrome™, Apple OS, and any other operatingsystem suitable for a computing device.

In some embodiments, a user provides inputs to the server 102 computingdevice through one or more input devices 264. Examples of input devices264 include a camera 265, a keyboard 266, a mouse 268, a microphone 270,a positioning device 271, and touch sensor 272 (such as a touchpad ortouch sensitive display). Other examples of input devices include aremote control, or a natural user interface device (such as theMicrosoft Kinect® device). Other embodiments include other input devices264. The input devices are often connected to the processing device 240through an input/output interface 274 that is coupled to the system bus244. These input devices 264 can be connected by any number ofinput/output interfaces, such as a parallel port, serial port, gameport, or a universal serial bus. Wireless communication between inputdevices and the interface 274 is possible as well, and includesinfrared, BLUETOOTH® wireless technology, 802.11a/b/g/n, cellular, orother radio frequency communication systems in some possibleembodiments.

In this example embodiment, a display device 276, such as a monitor,liquid crystal display device, projector, or touch sensitive displaydevice, is also connected to the system bus 244 via an interface, suchas a video adapter 278. Another example of the display device 276 is atelevision. In addition to the display device 276, the server 102computing device can include various other peripheral devices (notshown), such as speakers or a printer.

When used in a local area networking environment or a wide areanetworking environment (such as the Internet), the server 102 computingdevice is typically connected to the network 106 through a networkinterface 280, such as an Ethernet interface, a cellular communicationinterface, or other wireless or wired communication interface. Otherpossible embodiments use other communication devices. For example, someembodiments of the server 102 computing device include a modem forcommunicating across the network.

The server 102 computing device typically includes at least some form ofcomputer readable media. Computer readable media includes any availablemedia that can be accessed by the server 102 computing device. By way ofexample, computer readable media include computer readable storage mediaand computer readable communication media.

Computer readable storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any device configuredto store information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. Computer readable storagemedia includes, but is not limited to, random access memory, read onlymemory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, flashmemory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory,digital versatile disks or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium that can be used to store the desired informationand that can be accessed by the server 102 computing device. Computerreadable storage media does not include computer readable communicationmedia.

Computer readable communication media typically embodies computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data ina modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” refers to a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, computer readable communication mediaincludes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection,and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency, infrared, andother wireless media. Combinations of any of the above are also includedwithin the scope of computer readable media.

The computing device illustrated in FIG. 5 is also an example ofprogrammable electronics, which may include one or more such computingdevices, and when multiple computing devices are included, suchcomputing devices can be coupled together with a suitable datacommunication network so as to collectively perform the variousfunctions, methods, or operations disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary method ofprocessing an event data feed. In some embodiments, the method is anoperation performed by the data feed processing engine 214, shown inFIG. 14.

In some embodiments, the event-related data feed provider 108 (shown inFIGS. 1-4) provides a discrete action data 154 feed which describes ingreat detail discrete actions that occur over the course of an event300. In some embodiments, it is desirable to group the discrete actionsinto broader event segments. For example, although the discrete actiondata 154 feed may detail each and every pitch of a game, it may beoverwhelming if such detail was all displayed on an event timeline.Therefore, in some embodiments the discrete action data 154 is processedby the data feed processing engine 214 to identify broader eventsegments that can encompass multiple discrete action data items. Indoing so, the data feed processing engine 214 divides the event 300 intoevent segments that are more likely to be of interest to users.

In this example shown in FIG. 6, the discrete action data 154 feedincludes multiple action data items 162, including action data items 164(at time t1), 176 (at time t2), 178 (at time t3), and 180 (at time t4).

The action data items 162 are processed to group the action data items162 into event segments 302. In this example, the event segments 302include event segments 304, 306, 308, and 310. The event segment 306 isgenerated based on the action data items 164, 166, 168, and 170. Morespecifically, the event segment 306 begins at the time (t1) of theaction data item 174, and ends at the time (t4) of the action data item180.

In some embodiments, the data feed processing engine 214 generates theevent segments 302 based on a set of rules. For example, the eventsegment 306 is generated using a rule that states that a new eventsegment should begin when a player comes up to bat. In this case, thefirst pitch to the player (action data item 174) is therefore identifiedas the beginning of event segment 306. The event segment 306 is alsogenerated using a rule that states that an event segment should end uponthe conclusion of the player's at bat. In this case, the action dataitem 180 indicates that the player hit a home run at time t4, andtherefore the event segment 306 concludes at the time (t4) of the actiondata item 180 for the home run. In some embodiments the time of theevent segment is identified as beginning or ending a predetermined timebefore or after an event. For a home run, for example, it is known thatit will take the player some time to run around the bases, and thereforethe event segment 306 can be determined to conclude after a period oftime (e.g. 25 seconds) has elapsed after the action data item 180. Insome embodiments, the rules engine utilized by the data feed processingengine includes a list of important actions (e.g., a new player comingto bat, a home run, a single, a double, a triple, a strikeout, etc.),and event segments are defined to start and end when an action data item162 matches one of the actions in the list of important actions. In thisway, the entire event 300 can be divided into a series of event segments302. In some embodiments the event segments 302 are non-overlapping intime. In some embodiments the event segments 302 also include a pre-gameevent segment and a post-game event segment. The pre-game event segmentencompasses a period of time before and up to the beginning of an event,and the post-game event segment encompasses a period of time immediatelyfollowing the conclusion of the event.

In some embodiments, the event segments 302 are also grouped together bythe data feed processing engine 214. In this example, the event segments302 are grouped together into scored segments 320. Scored segments 320correspond with the scoring system of a sport, for example, and identifythe unit of measurement that is used for scoring of the particularsport. In the baseball example shown in FIG. 6, a baseball game isscored by half innings, and therefore the event segments 302 are groupedtogether to generate scored segments 320 corresponding to each halfinning. More specifically, the scored segments 320 include a scoredsegment 322 for the bottom of the fifth inning, a scored segment 324 forthe top of the sixth inning, a scored segment 326 for the bottom of thesixth inning, etc. The scored segment 324 begins at a time tx and endsat a time t8, and encompasses all of the event segments 302therebetween, including event segments 304, 306, 308, 310, etc.

In non-scored events, the segments 320 can be defined by other periods,sessions, or other logical divisions of the event, rather than beingbased upon segments of time used for scoring.

In some embodiments the times associated with the action data feeds arethe recording times—the times at which the action data items arerecorded by a person observing the event. The recording times areslightly delayed from the actual time in some embodiments. Therefore, insome embodiments the recording times are converted to actual times bysubtracting a predetermined delay time from the recorded time. In someembodiments the delay time includes a broadcast time delay (a delayrequired to broadcast the event across a television or other videocommunication system) as well as an entry time delay. An example of abroadcast time delay might be 3 seconds, and an example of an entry timedelay might be another 3 seconds. Therefore, an example of the delaytime is 6 seconds.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example structure of thedata store 104, shown in FIG. 1. This example of the data store 104shows exemplary data structures utilized for a baseball event. Thedatabase includes a plurality of records 340 and a plurality ofrelationships 342 defined between the records.

In some embodiments the data store 104 is a relational database in whichthe records 340 are tables and the relationships 342 are defined withinthe tables. In other embodiments the data store 104 is a graph databasein which the records 340 are nodes and the relationships 342 are definedby edges.

In this example, the records include a shortUrls record 350, filtersrecord 352, mlb Venues record 354, mlb Team Profiles record 356, mlbGame Dates record 358, mlb Seasons record 360, deleted Cards record 362,cards record 364, mlb Teams record 366, mlb Player Profiles record 368,bumps record 370, mlb Games record 372, mlb Game Teams record 374, usersrecord 376, flags record 378, mlb Play Statistics record 380, mlb PlayTypes record 382, notifications record 384, followers record 386,devices record 388, purchases record 390, expiration codes record 392,feeds record 394, mlb Plays record 396, tasks record 398, sessionsrecord 400, and mlb Players record 402. Other embodiments include more,fewer, or different records.

In some embodiments, the records include the following exemplary dataitems. Other embodiments include more, fewer, or different data items.

The short Urls record 350 includes an id, url, value, and created dataitem.

The filters record 352 includes an id, cardId, type, order, and createddata item.

The mlbVenues record 354 includes an id, name, location and created dataitem.

The mlb Team Profiles record 356 includes an id, mlbTeamId, mlbSeasonId,mlbVenueId, name, abbreviation, location, league, division and createddata item.

The mlb Game Dates record 358 includes an id, mlb Game Id, date andcreated data item.

The mlb Seasons record 360 includes an id, year and created data item.

The deleted Cards record 362 includes an id, mlb Game Id, mlb Play Idand created data item.

The cards record 364 includes an id, user Id, parent Id, app, mlb GameId, mlb Play Id, child Count, bump Count, text Type, asset Type, shortUrl Id, date, text, text Plain, icon, filter, photo Path, photo Urls,video Path, video Url, width, height, certified, delta, created andupdated data item.

The mlb Teams record 366 includes an id and created data items.

The mlb Player Profiles record 368 includes an id, mlb Player Id, mlbTeam Id, mlb Season Id, date, status, position, number, height, weightand created data item.

The bumps record 370 includes an id, user Id, card Id, mlb Game Id, mlbPlay Id and created data item.

The mlb Games record 372 includes an id, mlb Season Id, mlb Venue Id,home Team Id, visitor Team Id, date, season Type, status, inning, inningHalf, balls, strikes, out, simulation, bump Count, card Count andcreated data item.

The mlb Game Teams record 374 includes an id, mlb Game Id, mlb Team Id,wins, losses, won, lost, runs, hits, errors, innings and created dataitem.

The users record 376 includes an id, first Name, last Name, email,birthday, gender, username, password, salt, status, role, anonymous Key,avatar Type, avatar Path, avatar Urls, banner Type, banner Path, bannerUrls, favorite Mlb Team Id, follower Count, following Count, card Count,created and updated data item.

The flags record 378 includes an id, card Id, user Id and created dataitem.

The mlb Play Statistics record 380 includes an id, mlb Play Id, mlbPlayer Id, mlb Team Id, mlb Play Type Id and type data item.

The mlb Play Types record 382 includes an id, category, order, name,abbreviation, visible, searchable, outcomes, offensive, defensive,template, exclusions and created data item.

The notifications record 384 includes an id, user Id, app, message,status, process, error, created and updated data item.

The followers record 386 includes a user Id and a follower Id data item.

The devices record 388 includes an id, user Id, text Type, created andupdated data item.

The purchases record 390 includes an id, user Id, product Id, receiptand created data item.

The expiration codes record 392 includes an id, user Id, type,expiration Date and created data item.

The feeds record 394 includes an id, type, key, started, finished,duration, error and created data item.

The tasks mlb Plays record 396 includes an id, mlb Game Id, date, mlbPlay Type Id, outcome, visible, description, pitcher Id, batter Id,inning, inning Half, balls, strikes, out, inning Over, game Over, gameStatus, rbi, runs, home Runs, visitor Runs, bump Count, card Count andcreated data item.

The tasks record 398 includes an id, file, data, started, finished,duration, error and created data item.

The sessions record 400 includes an id, modified, lifetime and data dataitem.

The mlb Players record 402 includes an id, first Name, last Name, birthdate, bat Hand, throw Hand and created data item.

An exemplary set of relationships 342 between the records 340 isillustrated in FIG. 7. Other embodiments include more, fewer, ordifferent relationships.

An exemplary set of data items contained within each record 340 is alsoillustrated in FIG. 7. Other embodiments include more, fewer, ordifferent data items.

FIGS. 8-32 illustrate aspects of the event-related user interactionsystem 111, as well as aspects of the server 102 when cooperating withthe event-related user interaction system 111.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of an example of the computingdevice 110, including an example of the event-related user interactionsystem 111. In this example, the event-related user interaction system111 includes a media capture engine 430, a content interaction engine432, and a search filter definition engine 434.

In some embodiments, the event-related user interaction system 111 is asoftware app stored in a computer-readable storage device of thecomputing device 110. The software app includes data instructions thatare executable by a processing device (e.g., the processing device 240,shown in FIG. 5) of the computing device 110 to perform the operations,functions, methods, or features described herein. Although certainoperations are described as being performed on the computing device 110,other embodiments can transfer the performance of at least some of theseoperations to other computing devices in other embodiments.Additionally, in another possible embodiment the event-related userinteraction system is or includes a browser software application, whichgenerates a user interface based on data provided by the server 102. Inthis example, some of the operations described as being performed on thecomputing device 110 could instead be performed by the server 102, butdisplayed on the computing device 110 through the browser. Otherembodiments are implemented in yet other configurations.

In some embodiments the computing device 110 is a mobile computingdevice, such as a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, Blackberry™, Windows™,or Android™ mobile computing device), a tablet computer (e.g., an iPad™mobile computing device), a laptop, a wearable computing device (e.g.,the Google Glass™ wearable device, a watch-style device, or a patchdevice), an implantable computing device, a camera, a video recorder, anaudio recorder, an Internet of Things device, and the like. In otherembodiments, the computing device 110 is a less portable computingdevice, such as a desktop computer. Another example of a computingdevice 110 is a television, such as a smart television.

The event-related user interaction system 111 provides the interfacebetween the event-related media management system 100 and the user U(FIG. 1). Accordingly, the event-related media management system 100operates in some embodiments to receive inputs from the user, generate auser interface that is displayed or otherwise presented to the user, andcapture media content and send the media content to the server 102.

In some embodiments the event-related user interaction system 111includes the media capture engine 430, which operates to capture mediaitems and send those media items to the server 102 for distributionthrough the event-related media management system 100. Examples of themedia capture engine 430 are illustrated and described in further detailherein with reference to FIGS. 9-21.

The content interaction engine 432 operates to generate a user interfaceto present cards and media content to the user. Examples of the contentinteraction engine 432 are illustrated and described in further detailherein with reference to FIGS. 24-30.

The search filter definition engine 434 operates to receive from theuser and define search filters to be applied to the content displayed bythe content interaction engine 432. Examples of the search filterdefinition engine are described in further detail herein with referenceto FIGS. 31-32.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an example of the media captureengine 430, of the event-related user interaction system 111, shown inFIG. 8. In this example, the media capture engine 430 includes a mediarecorder 442, card generator 444, tagging engine 446, and certificationengine 448.

The media recorder 442 operates to record non-text media content. Insome embodiments, the media recorder 442 utilizes a camera and/ormicrophone of the computing device 110 to take a picture, record avideo, or record audible sounds. For example, a mobile computing device120 (FIG. 1) operated by the attendee user A at the event venue canutilize the media recorder 442 to record non-text media content of orassociated with the event. An example could be a video recording or aphotograph of the centerfielder jumping to catch a ball just before itpasses the outfield fence. Once the media content has been recorded bythe media recorder 442, it is stored in a computer-readable storagedevice. An example of the media recorder 442 is illustrated anddescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 10-11.

The card generator 444 operates to generate a card. In some embodimentsthe card generator 444 cooperates with the server 102 to generate acard. The card can include the media content recorded by the mediarecorder 442, external media content (not recorded by the media recorder442), text content, an icon, or other information or data, for example.In some embodiments, cards also include time stamps to permit them to bedisplayed within chronological (or reverse-chronological) timelines, asdescribed herein. An example of the card generator 444 is illustratedand described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 12-14.

The tagging engine 446 operates in cooperation with the server 102 totag cards with event-related data associated with the card. In someembodiments, cards are tagged to event segments to which they relate.For example, the card generated for the centerfielder's catch is taggedwith the event segment generated for that play. Additional tagging ofevent-related data is also performed in some embodiments, such as toidentify players involved in the play, the scored segment (e.g., halfinning) associated with the play, the names of the teams, etc. Thetagging engine 446 permits a lot of information to be associated withthe card with little or no input from the user required, in someembodiments. An example of the tagging engine is illustrated anddescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 15-17.

In some embodiments the tagging of media content occurs at or near tothe time at which the media content is generated. In other embodimentsthe media content is tagged at a later time after it is generated. Forexample, the tagging engine 446 can be operated to tag historicalcontent with event-related data. In some embodiments the tagging engine446 performs a method of method of retroactively converting a mediacontent database, to contextualize the media content contained therein.An example of the method includes: obtaining data associated with themedia content; processing the media content to associate the mediacontent with contextual event-related data using the data; andassociating the media items with contextual event-related data. Themethod can be used, for example, to add contextual event-related data tomedia items previously lacking the contextual data. In some embodimentsthe method or retroactively converting media content comprises tagginglatent or archival content.

Further, in some embodiments the tagging engine 446 receives andprocesses media content to batch process collections of media content.For example, media content items can be selected or submitted andprocessed as a collection to tag media content to each of the mediacontent items in the collection.

The certification engine 448 operates to evaluate the reliability of thecard tagging performed by the tagging engine, such as by determinewhether the tagging can be verified. If the tagging can be verified, thecertification engine determines that the tagging is reliable andidentifies the card as a certified card. If the tagging cannot beverified, the certification engine determines that the tagging is notreliable and identifies the card as an uncertified card. An example ofthe certification engine 448 is illustrated and described in more detailwith reference to FIG. 21.

In some embodiments, after a card has been generated by the mediacapture engine 430, the card is sent to the server 102 for publicationin one or more timelines, as described herein. Examples of the timelinesare illustrated and described in more detail with reference to FIGS.27-30.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the operation of themedia recorder 442. In this example, the media recorder 442 performsoperations 460, 462, 464, 466, 468, and 470.

Operation 460 is performed to display a media recorder interface 480. Anexample of the media recorder interface 480 is shown in FIG. 11.

In some embodiments, the media recorder interface presents severaloptions for obtaining media content. One option is to record mediacontent in operation 462. Once recorded, the media content is taggedwith a time stamp in operation 468 identifying the time at which themedia content was recorded.

Another option is to select, in operation 464, media content that waspreviously recorded by the media recorder 442.

Yet another option is to import, in operation 466, externally generatedmedia content. An example of externally generated media content is mediacontent that is captured outside of the event-related user interactionsystem, or imported from an external source, such as from a third-partysocial media system 132 (FIG. 1), such as Facebook™, Twitter™,Instagram™, Pinterest™, Youtube™, or other external sources, such as adigital camera or digital video recorder. In some embodiments the mediacontent from an external source is tagged with contextual event-relatedinformation. In some embodiments the media content from an externalsource is certified by the event-related media management system 100, asdiscussed herein.

Once media content has been recorded or identified, an operation 470 isperformed to receive a Share input from the user, indicating that theuser wants to distribute the media content through the event-relatedmedia management system 100, which initiates the card generator 444,shown in FIGS. 9 and 12.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of the computing device 110 and the mediarecorder interface 480. In this example the media recorder interfaceincludes a preview window 482, selectable controls including an openbutton 484, a camera button 486, a video recording button 488, specialeffects controls 490, and a share button 492.

The preview window 482 displays the currently selected media content, orprovides a preview of the media content presently available forrecording through the camera.

The open button 484 is selectable to initiate the import operation 466,shown in FIG. 10. The camera and video recording buttons 486 and 488 areselectable to initiate the record operation 462, shown in FIG. 10. Theshare button 492 is selectable to perform operation 470 (FIG. 10) and toinitiate the card generator 444, shown in FIG. 12.

Some embodiments further include special effects controls 490. Oncemedia content has been recorded and selected, the special effectscontrols 490 are selectable to apply a special effect to the mediacontent. Special effects include, for example, color, contrast,brightness, and focus adjustments. In some embodiments certain specialeffects are available only to users who have purchased them.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the operation of thecard generator 444. In some embodiments, the card generator 444 performsone or more of operations 500, 502, 504, 506, and 508.

The operation 500 is performed to display the card generator interface520. An example of the card generator interface 520 is shown in FIG. 13.

The operation 502 is performed to time stamp the card with a cardcreation time. The card creation time is different from the time thatthe media content is recorded (operation 462), and can be significantlydifferent when the card is created by retrieving previously recordedmedia content (operation 464, shown in FIG. 10).

The operation 504 is performed to receive a selection of non-text mediacontent, if not previously selected. Additionally, operation 504 can beperformed to change the media content when one was previously selected.

The operation 506 is performed to receive text content to be includedwith the card.

The operation 508 is performed to receive a selection of an icon to beincluded with the card.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of the computing device 110 and anexample of the card generator interface 520. In this example, the cardgenerator interface includes navigation controls 522 (including a cancelbutton 524 and a next button 526), a card preview window 530 (includinga media content preview window 532), a media recorder button 534, textentry controls 536, and keypad 538.

The navigation controls 522 include a cancel button 524 that can beselected to exit the card generator 444 and a next button 526 that canbe selected to initiate the tagging engine 446 (FIG. 9).

The preview window 530 provides a preview of the card as it is beinggenerated. In this example, the preview window 530 includes a mediacontent preview window 532 in which a thumbnail version of the selectedmedia content (if any) is displayed.

If no media content has been selected, or to change the selected mediacontent, the media recorder button 534 is provided. Upon selection ofthe media recorder button 534, the media recorder 442 is initiated, asshown and described with reference to FIGS. 10-11.

Text can be added to the card through the text entry controls 536 andthe keypad 538. In some embodiments, the text entry is displayed in thetext preview window 540, and instructions are provided in theinstruction window 542.

In some embodiments the text entry can be provided as a headline orcommentary. The headline control is selected to enter a headline, andthe commentary control is selected to enter commentary. A headline istext content having a maximum quantity of characters (e.g., 40) that isless than the maximum number of characters (e.g., 120) permitted forcommentary. Additionally, in some embodiments a headline is displayeddifferently than commentary in a card. For example, a headline isdisplayed in all capital letters, while a commentary is displayed in alllowercase letters. Other visually distinguishable displaycharacteristics can be used in other embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example method of assigning an icon to a card,such as in operation 508, shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 14 includes displays(a), (b), and (c), each depicting various views of the card generatorinterface 520.

In display (a), the card generator interface 520 includes an icon button546, which can be selected to initiate the operation 508 to add an iconto the card that is being generated through the card generator interface520. An example of an icon is an emoticon, which includes a graphicalelement designed to convey an emotion, such as a smiling face, an angryface, a sad face, etc. Other embodiments include other graphical icons.

Upon selection of the icon button 546, the icon selection window 550 isdisplayed. The icon selection window 550 includes an icon groupidentifier 552, and an icon display window 554. The icon groupidentifier provides a name of the icon group shown in the icon displaywindow 554. In some embodiments, a name or alias of the person orcompany that provided the icon is also displayed in the icon groupidentifier 552.

To add an icon to the card, as shown in display (b), the icons 560 and562 can be selected. In this example, the icon 562 has been selected.Once selected, the card preview window 530 is updated to include theicon in the icon preview window 563.

Some embodiments include premium icons 564 that are available for a fee,such as shown in display (c). In this example, the icon group identifier552 identifies a premium set of icons 564, which are displayed in theicon display window 554. The cost to access one or the entire set oficons is shown in the price display 566. If the user wants to purchaseaccess to the premium icons 564, the payment processor 130 is used tocomplete the transaction.

Once the building of the card has been completed, the next button isselected to initiate the tagging engine 446.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating example operations performed by thetagging engine 446, shown in FIG. 9. In this example, the tagging engine446 performs operations 580, 582, 583, 584, and 586.

Operation 580 is performed to associate the card with an event. Anexample is shown in FIG. 16.

Operation 582 is performed to associate the card with an event segment.An example is shown in FIG. 17.

Operation 582 is performed to associate the card with a location.Several examples are shown in FIGS. 18-20.

Operation 584 is performed to apply tags to the card. In someembodiments, all data associated with the event segment is tagged to themedia content card. Some examples of possible data are shown in Tables 1and 2. More, less, or different data can be used in other embodiments,such as any of the possible data described herein or combinations orderivatives thereof.

Operation 586 is performed to apply a publication time stamp to thecard. The publication time stamp identifies the time that the card wassent to the server 102 for publication.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the computing device 110 and anexample of an event selection interface 600, such as used to perform theoperation 580 (FIG. 15) to associate the card with an event. In thisexample, the event selection interface 600 includes a card previewwindow 602, date selection controls 604, event listing window 606, and aNo Event control 608.

The card preview window 602 displays a preview of the current cardassociated with an event.

The date selection controls 604 permit the user to navigate amongvarious days to select a date on which the event occurred. In someembodiments the date is automatically selected based upon one or more ofthe time stamps associated with the card, such as the content creationtime stamp, or the card creation time stamp.

The event listing window 606 displays a listing of the events thatoccurred on the day selected with the date selection controls 604. Inthis example, the event listing window displays a set of baseball gamesthat occurred on the selected date. The user selects an event from thelist by tapping on the appropriate event.

Alternatively, if the user cannot find the event in the list, or thecard is not tied to any particular event, the user can select the NoEvent control 608 to skip the event tagging process.

In another possible embodiment, the event is automatically identifiedusing a location identifier associated with the card. For example, a GPSlocation is associated with the media content when it is recorded. TheGPS location is then associated with the card when it is created. TheGPS location can then be used by the matching engine (e.g., 206 (FIG. 2)to identify the event venue V (FIG. 1) that is located at the location.The content creation time stamp or card creation time stamp can be usedto identify the time of the event.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of the computing device 110 and anexample of an event segment selection interface 620, such as used toperform the operation 582 (FIG. 15) to associate the card with an eventsegment. In this example, the event segment selection interface 620includes a card preview window 602, a selected event preview window 622,and an event segment selection window 624.

The card preview window 602 displays a preview of the current cardassociated with an event.

The selected event preview window 622 identifies the event selectedthrough the event selection interface 600, shown in FIG. 16.

The event segment selection window 624 permits the user to identify anevent segment associated with the card. In this example, the eventsegment selection window 624 includes a scoreboard display window 626,and an event segment display window 628.

The scoreboard display window 626 displays a scoreboard display for theselected event (shown in the selected event preview window 622). Thescoreboard display depicts the event according to a set of scoredsegments. In this example, the scored segments are half innings, and thescore for each half inning is displayed for each team. The scoredsegments are selectable by the user in the scoreboard display window626, such as by tapping on the scored segment.

The event segment display window 628 displays at least some of the eventsegments for the selected event. The event segments shown in the eventsegment display window 628 can be scrolled by swiping up or down withinthe event segment display window 628. Alternatively, the user can selectone of the scored segments in the scoreboard display window 626, whichcauses the event segment display window 628 to display event segmentsassociated with the selected scored segment. In this example, the eventsegments 630, 632, 634, and 638 are shown. To associate the card withthe event segment, the user selects one of the event segments.

In some embodiments, the event segment is automatically identifiedutilizing the matching engine 206 (FIG. 2). In this example, one or moretime stamps associated with the card are compared with the time stampsassociated with the event segments (as shown in FIG. 6. For example, thecontent creation time stamp is compared with the start and end times ofthe event segment to identify the event segment having a range of timesencompassing the content creation time. In this way the event segmentcan be automatically identified. In some embodiments, the identifiedevent segment is displayed to the user in a visually distinguishableformat, such as by highlighting the event segment with a differentcolored background. The user can then verify that the identified eventsegment is the correct event segment, or select a different eventsegment from the event segment display window 628.

FIGS. 18-20 illustrate examples of associating a media card with alocation. FIGS. 18-20 are also examples of method 583, shown in FIG. 15.

In some embodiments, a location is identified that is then associatedwith the card. In some embodiments, the location is a position at theevent venue V (FIG. 1) where the mobile computing device 120 was locatedwhen the media content was captured. In another possible embodiment, thelocation is a location of one or more subjects that are captured in themedia content. In yet a further possible embodiment, both a capturelocation and a subject location are identified and tagged to the mediacontent card.

In various possible embodiments, the identification of a locationassociated with a card can be performed automatically, partiallyautomatically, or manually.

In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 120 automaticallyidentifies the location. This can be performed, for example, using thepositioning device 271 (FIG. 5), such as a global positioning system(GPS). The positioning device identifies a position of the mobilecomputing device 120 at the time that the media content is captured, forexample, such as by a GPS coordinate (e.g., latitude and longitude, andpossibly elevation). Other positioning devices or technologies can alsobe used, such as by using Wi-Fi hotspot data and/or cell tower data, aniBeacon, and a near-field communication device, for example. Someembodiments interact with Google™ NEST™ devices.

Once a position has been identified, the position can be used directlyas the location, or can be mapped to another location. For example, theposition can be mapped to a region of the event venue (V). In someembodiments the regions are defined in the event venue. For example,many event venues (such as the example baseball field shown in FIG. 18)identify seating positions with respect to one or more of a deck (e.g.,upper or lower deck), section, row, and seat. In other embodiments, theregions are defined in relation to aspects of the event. In a sport, forexample, the regions can be identified in relation to characteristics ofthe sports field, such as being on the first base side, third base side,behind the plate, outfield, etc. As another example, such as in golf orsnowboarding, the positions can be associated with a position along alength of an event venue, such as between starting and ending positionsof a hole of a golf course (e.g., FIG. 19) or of a run of a half pipe(e.g., FIG. 20). An example of a location on the golf course is the leftside 100 yards from pin. An example of a location on the half pipe isthe right side 50 feet down from the top of the half pipe. Any desiredlevel of abstraction can be used to divide the event venue into regionsand map specific positions to those resulting regions.

As noted above, the identification of the location can be performedautomatically in some embodiments by identifying the position, mappingthe position to a region of the event venue, and associating theposition and/or region with the media card. In some embodiments themedia card is associated with multiple regions (e.g., upper deck,section 236, row 5, seat 3, outfield, center field, etc.). In someembodiments the location information permits automatic or semi-automatictagging of media content with contextual event-related data withoutrequiring further user input, or with less or optional user input, forexample.

In some embodiments the user is prompted to confirm the identifiedlocation. This can be done by displaying the identified location and/orone or more identified regions to the user and requesting confirmationor correction. The display can be a text-based display or a graphicaldisplay, such as including a display of a map of the event venue withthe identified location visually depicted.

In another possible embodiment, the user is prompted to manuallyidentify the location. For example, the user can be prompted to identifythe region, such as by one or more of deck, section, row, and seat. Inanother example, a map of the event venue is displayed and the user isprompted to tap or click on the location in the map display.

Once the location has been identified, the media content card isassociated with that location, and the location is stored in a computerreadable storage device for the media content card, such as within thedata store 104 (FIG. 1).

In some embodiments, the media content card is associated both alocation and a direction. In some embodiments, the direction is thedirection that a recording device (e.g., digital camera or camcorder) isfacing when the media content is captured. One example of a technologythat can identify the direction at which the recording device is pointedis the CrowdOptic™ technology from CrowdOptic Inc. of San Francisco,Calif. Eye-tracking or motion-tracking technology could be similarlyused to identify a direction and an object or point of interest, whichcan be associated with the media content, or used to identifyevent-related data related to the media content. Such technology couldalso be used for other purposes, such as for navigation within the userinterface, for example.

Once the direction has been identified, the media content card isassociated with the direction. Examples of directions include compassdirections, vector directions, directions with respect to an eventvenue, etc. Additionally, in some embodiments the directions are mappedto a direction relative to the event venue, using both the location andthe direction data. For example, knowing that the location is in centerfield, and that the direction is due South, the tagging engine candetermine that the recording device is pointing toward home plate. Insome embodiments the field of view, focus, focal point location, orother data can also or alternatively be used to specify the locationand/or direction. The direction is then stored in a computer-readablestorage device, such as in the data store 104 (FIG. 1), and associatedwith the media content card.

In some embodiments the data generated and stored by the tagging engine446 is used to subsequently locate media content cards using searchqueries. The search queries can be formed to search for any of the datatagged to the media content cards, such as the event, event segment,location, direction, and time.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating example method 650 of certifyingmedia content cards. FIG. 21 also illustrates an example of theoperations performed by the certification engine 448 of the mediacapture engine 430, shown in FIG. 9. This example includes operations652, 654, 656, 658, 660, 662, 664, 666, 668, and 670.

Certification of media content cards allows the event-related mediamanagement system 100 to identify certain media content cards (i.e.,certified cards) as being more reliably associated with an event thanother media content cards (i.e., uncertified cards). The event-relatedmedia management system 100 can then use this information to treat thecertified cards different from the uncertified cards, such as bypromoting the certified cards to a more prominent position in atimeline, or by labeling or otherwise graphically depicting thecertified cards in such a way that they are distinguishable fromuncertified cards. In some embodiments, the certification processprovides a type of spam filter, by promoting those cards that can becertified as being reliably tagged, while still permitting users tosubmit content that cannot be certified as reliably tagged. As anotherexample, in some embodiments a search query can be performed for mediacontent cards that are tagged to a particular event, event segment, orscored segment. To obtain more reliable results, the search query can belimited to certified cards, to reduce the chance of obtaining resultsthat are unrelated to the query. In another possible embodiment, thecertified cards are simply promoted in the search results aboveuncertified cards.

An example method 650 of certifying cards is shown in FIG. 21. Themethod 650 begins with operation 652, such as after a card has beengenerated and tagged. The operation 652 determines whether the card istagged to an event, such as described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.If the event was not tagged to an event, such as by selection of the NoEvent control 608 (FIG. 16), the method advances to operation 654.

Operation 654 determines whether the card contains external media.External media is any media content that was not generated by a mediarecorder 442 (FIG. 9) of the event-related media management system 100,for example. The basic concept is that the date and time that mediacontent is created is not necessarily reliable if the media content isreceived from an external source, because the date and time can beeasily changed, or may be incorrect. On the other hand, media contentthat is generated by the media recorder 442 is more trustworthy, becausethe time stamps are assigned by the media recorder in a known andtrustworthy manner. For example, in some embodiments the time stampsapplied by the media recorder (or other component of the event-relateduser interaction system 111) are synchronized with the server, and donot rely solely on the computing devices internal clock.

If the card contains external media, then operation 656 is performed topublish the card to the general timeline (as discussed in more detailherein) as an uncertified card, because the tagged data is determined tobe unverifiable. On the other hand, if the card does not containexternal media, then operation 658 is performed to publish the card tothe general timeline as a certified card. Publication of the cardinvolves sending the card data and media content to the server, where itis stored in the data store and made available for distribution throughthe content supply engine 208 (FIG. 4), for example. In these examples,the cards are only published to the general timeline because they arenot tagged to any particular event. Cards that are tagged to aparticular event can also be published to the respective event timeline,according to the operations 660, 662, 664, 666, 668, and 670.

More specifically, if the card is determined to be tagged to an event inoperation 652, operation 660 is then performed to determine whether thecard contains external media. If so, the card is tagged as uncertified,and is published to both the general timeline and the event timeline.The publication in the event timeline includes publication of the cardin association with the event segment that it is tagged to (e.g., inoperation 582, FIG. 15), such as to display the card under the eventsegment in the timeline.

If the card does not contain external media, operation 664 is performedto determine if the content time stamp matches the event time.

To explain this with a more concrete example, and referring to FIG. 6,if the media content card includes a content creation time stamp of timet3 (including a date and time), and the media content card has beentagged to an event 300, the operation 664 compares the creation timestamp time t3 with the start and end times tu and t11 of the event 300.In some embodiments, the operation 664 utilizes and communicates withthe server's matching engine 206, shown in FIG. 4 to perform some or allof the operations for this comparison. For example, the time stamp t3 iscompared with the beginning time tu and the end time t11 of the event300, and calculation is performed to determine whether the time t3 isbetween or equal to either of the times tu and t11. In some embodimentsan additional buffer (e.g., 1-2 hours) is provided before the start timetu and after the end time t11. If the time t3 does not match the eventtime, the card is tagged as uncertified and is published to the generaland event timelines in operation 662.

If the card time stamp does match the event time, then operation 666 isperformed to determine whether there is an acceptable variance betweenthe card creation time and the event segment times to which the card hasbeen tagged.

Referring again to FIG. 6, and continuing with the prior example, theoperation 666 compares the card time stamp at time t3 with the start andend times t1 and t4 of the event segment to which the card has beentagged, and if necessary, other event segments (304, 308, etc.). In someembodiments, the operation 664 utilizes the server's matching engine206, shown in FIG. 4 to perform some or all of the operations for thiscomparison. The operation 666 compares the time stamp at time t3 withthe beginning time t1 and the end time t4 of the event segment 306, anddetermines whether the time t3 is equal to or between the times t1 andt4. If so, the operation 664 determines that the time stamp matches theevent time, and therefore verifies that the media content card is taggedto an appropriate event segment 306.

In some embodiments, the operation 666 also permits some variance. Forexample, an acceptable variance includes any time that is within plus orminus one event segment from the tagged event segment. In this example,the operation 666 compares the time t3 with the range of times beginningwith the start time ty of the prior event segment 304 and the end timet6 of the following event segment 308. If the time t3 is equal to orbetween the times ty and t6, then the variance is considered acceptableand the media content card is verified as being properly tagged to theevent segment 306. In another possible embodiment, a time buffer of afixed time period (e.g., 10 seconds, 30 seconds, etc.) is applied beforeand after the event segment start and/or end times to determine theacceptable variance.

The operation 668 is then performed to tag the media content card as acertified card, and to publish the media content card to the generaltimeline and the event timeline. In the event timeline, the mediacontent card is published in association with the event segment 306,such as by displaying the media content card under the event segment306.

If the tagging is not verified, such as when the time t3 does not havean acceptable variance from the event segment time, the media contentcard is tagged as uncertified and operation 670 is performed to publishthe media content card to the general timeline and the event timeline.In the event timeline, the media content card is published inassociation with the event segment 306, such as by displaying the mediacontent card under the event segment 306.

FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate examples of media content cards 700. FIG. 22illustrates an example certified media content card 702. FIG. 23illustrates an example uncertified media content card 722. The mediacontent cards 700 include a media content window 704, user informationwindow 706, icon window 708, text window 710, and social interactioncontrols 712.

The media content window 704 displays the media content, such as aphotograph or a video. Photographs or other digital images can be in oneor more of a variety of digital image types, such as JPEG or GIF, forexample. When the media content is a video or audio recording, the mediacontent window 704 includes a media player with appropriate controls topermit the user to control the playback of the media content.

The user information window 706 identifies the user that created themedia content card 702, such as with a user photograph, user name, andfavorite team.

The icon window 708 displays an icon of the media content card 700, suchas an emoticon.

The text window 710 displays the text media associated with the mediacontent card 700. In some embodiments the text media is selected from aheadline and commentary, as discussed herein.

The social interaction controls 712 permit users to interact with mediacontent cards that they like. In this example, the social interactioncontrols 712 include a react control 714 and a bump control 716. Thereact control 714 can be selected to generate a reaction card to themedia content card. The reaction card is a new media content card thatis linked to the card 702, such as to permit dialog between users. Thenumber of reaction cards linked to the card 702 is displayed next to thereact control 714.

The bump control 716 can be selected by a user to indicate a positivereaction to the media content card, such as to indicate that the userlikes the media content card. The number of bumps that a media contentcard has received is displayed next to the bump control 716.

In some embodiments one or more aspects of the media content cards 700are adjusted depending on whether the media content card 700 is acertified card or an uncertified card. As one example, a backgroundcolor of certified media content card 702 has a first color (e.g.,white), while a background color of an uncertified media content card722 has as second color (e.g., black) different than the first color.Text colors are also selected to contrast with the background colors sothat the text is visible on the background.

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the contentinteraction engine 432 of the event-related user interaction system 111.In this example, the content interaction engine 432 includes ascoreboard engine 730 and a timeline engine 732. In some embodiments thecontent interaction engine 432 communicates with the content supplyengine 208 of the server 102 (FIG. 4) to perform the operationsdescribed herein, such as to obtain media content and event-related datafrom the database and generate scoreboard and timeline user interfaces.

The scoreboard engine 730 generates interactive scoreboard displays forevents. In some embodiments the scoreboard engine 730 includes a singleevent scoreboard engine 736 and a multi-event scoreboard engine 738.

The single event scoreboard engine 736 generates an interactivescoreboard display 750 associated with a single event. An example of thescoreboard display 750 is shown in FIG. 25. An example of a single eventis a sports game.

The multi-event scoreboard engine 738 displays multiple interactivescoreboard displays 780 associated with multiple events. For example, ona given day there may be multiple sports teams that are playing within asports league, such as within major league baseball. The multi-eventscoreboard engine 738 can be used to display an interactive scoreboarddisplay 750 for each of the games occurring on that day. In someembodiments the multi-event scoreboard engine 738 utilizes the singleevent scoreboard engine 736 to display the multiple scoreboard displays780. An example of a multi-event interactive scoreboard display is shownin FIG. 26.

The timeline engine 732 generates timelines displays for the display ofevent-related data and media content cards. In some embodiments thetimeline engine 732 includes a general timeline engine 742 and an eventtimeline engine 744. The general timeline engine displays a generaltimeline including media content cards from multiple events and eventhose that are not associated with an event. An example of a generaltimeline display is shown in FIG. 27.

The event timeline engine 744 displays a game timeline includingevent-related data and media content cards that are associated with aparticular event. An example of an event timeline display is shown inFIG. 28.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a scoreboard display 750, such asgenerated by the single event scoreboard engine 736. In this example,the scoreboard display 750 includes teams window 752, a scoreboardwindow 754, a summary statistics window 756, an event status window 758,a favorite content window 760, a card count window 762, a bump window764, and event timeline button 766.

The teams window 752 identifies the teams involved in the event. In thisexample, the away team is displayed on top and the home team isdisplayed on the bottom.

The scoreboard window 754 displays a scoreboard 755 for the event. Theformat of the scoreboard is selected according to the type of event, andbased on the structure (or rules) of the event. The scoreboard includesa plurality of event segment displays 770, where each scored segmentdisplay 770 is associated with a single scored segment for the event. Inthis example, the scored segments are half innings of a baseball game.In some embodiments the scored segment displays 770 each show a scoreassociated with the scored segment. In some embodiments the scoreboardwindow 754 displays a scoreboard based upon the rules and/or customs ofa sport or other event, such as may be found at the event venue V forthat sport or other event.

In the illustrated example, the scored segment displays 770 are arrangedin a grid configuration where each scored segment display 770 forms acell of the grid. The scored segment displays 770 are arranged in tworows and at least nine columns (additional columns can be added, forexample, if a game goes into extra innings). Each row is associated withthe respective team identified in the teams window 752, and each columnis associated with the two scored segments for each team making up afull inning.

In some embodiments the scoreboard window 754 is an input field. Morespecifically, each of the scored segment displays 770 is selectable,such as by receiving a tap, click, or other selection input into one ofthe scored segment displays 770. Upon receipt of the input, theevent-related user interaction system 111 updates the user interface todisplay information related to the selected scored segment display 770.For example, a timeline is displayed and one or more event segmentsassociated with the scored segment are shown to permit the user toquickly navigate to a segment of the event that is of interest to theuser. As one example, the user may select the scored segment display 770for Cincinnati for the top of the third inning. A timeline is thendisplayed in the user interface showing one or more event segments forthe top of the third inning, and any media content cards that areassociated with the event segments.

In some embodiments, the selection of a scored segment in the scoreboardwindow 754 is a two-step process. A first input (such as a tap or click)into the scoreboard window 754 executes an expand function, which zoomsthe scoreboard horizontally to expand the size of the scored segmentdisplays 770. For example, the first input causes the scoreboard todisplay only a subset of the innings, such as 4-5 innings, therebyincreasing the size of each of the scored segment displays 770. Asliding input scrolls the scoreboard in the event that the user wants toview or select a scored segment display 770 that is not visible afterthe expand function. Then, a second input is received to select thespecific scored segment display 770 of interest, which causes the eventsegments associated with the scored segment to be displayed in thetimeline display.

The summary statistics window 756 displays a summary of certain gamestatistics, such as the total runs, hits, and errors for each team.

The event status window 758 displays the current status of the event. Ifthe event is in processes, for example, the event status window 758identifies the current scored segment of the game, such as the bottom ofthe sixth inning. Pre-event and post-event segments are available insome embodiments for a period of time before and after the event. Insome embodiments a letter “F” indicates that the event has concluded andthe scores are final scores.

The favorite content window 760 displays a preview of the media contentcard that has generated the most buzz, and is selectable to jump to thethat media content card in the event timeline. In another possibleembodiment, the window 760 is selectable to advance to the current eventsegment in the event timeline.

The card count window 762 displays the total number of media contentcards that are tagged to the event. Selection of the card icon in thecard count window opens the game timeline at the most recent eventsegment, to permit viewing of the event segments and media contentcards.

The bump window 764 displays the total number of bumps that the eventhas received, and includes a bump icon that can be selected to add abump to the event. The bump input indicates that the user likes someaspect of the event, for example. The bump is stored in the data storeand associated with that event.

The event timeline button 766 is selectable to display the eventtimeline associated with the event at the most recent event segment.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of a multi-event interactive scoreboarddisplay 780. In this example, the multi-event interactive scoreboarddisplay 780 includes a plurality of scoreboard displays 750 (750A-D,etc.), such as generated by the single event scoreboard engine 736(FIGS. 24-25). Each of the scoreboard displays 750 includes a scoreboard755 (755A-D, etc.) for the respective game.

In some embodiments, the multi-event interactive scoreboard display 780is used as a home or landing page for the event-related user interactionsystem 111. As one example, the display 780 provides a set ofscoreboards for all games within a given sports league that arescheduled for the current day, such as all of today's major leaguebaseball games.

A vertical up or down swipe input permits viewing of additional displays750 for other events, to scroll the display 780 up or down.

In some embodiments the events are selectable, such as by tapping on theteam names window in the respective scoreboard displays 750. Uponselection of an event, the event timeline is displayed for that event.

The scoreboard is also selectable to jump to a particular event segmentof the event in the event timeline, as discussed with reference to FIG.25.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a general timeline display 800. Insome embodiments, the general timeline display 800 displays all mediacontent cards regardless of whether or not the media content cards aretagged to an event.

The general timeline display 800 includes a general timeline 801 inwhich media content cards 802 (including 802A-E) are displayed in amasonry grid configuration, and in a reverse chronological order, suchthat the newest card 802A is shown at the top, while older cards arearranged adjacent or below. In some embodiments the media content cards802 are displayed in a thumbnail view, and are selectable to display thedetailed view (such as shown in FIGS. 22-23).

A vertical up or down swipe input scrolls the general timeline display800 to permit viewing of additional media content cards 802 in thetimeline 801. While scrolling, a time indicator 830 (such as shown inFIG. 29) is displayed in some embodiments to display the time associatedwith the media content cards, and accordingly the current position inthe timeline.

In some embodiments the general timeline display 800 includes a scoreticker display 804 that periodically scrolls through current scores ofmultiple different events. The score ticker display is selectable tonavigate to the multi-event interactive scoreboard display 780, shown inFIG. 27.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of an event timeline display 820. In someembodiments, the event timeline display 820 displays event-related data,and also displays media content cards associated with the game. In someembodiments the event timeline display 820 displays only those mediacontent cards that are tagged to a the event, such as a particularbaseball game, and does not display media content cards that are taggedto a different event, nor media content cards that are not tagged to anevent.

The event timeline display 820 includes an event timeline 822. The eventtimeline includes a reverse-chronological listing of event segmentdisplays 824 (including event segment displays 824A-C, etc.) identifyingthe event segments that have been generated from the event-related datafeed (such as shown in FIG. 6) and are associated with the event.Additionally, in some embodiments media content cards (not shown in FIG.28) that are associated with the event and an event segment, aredisplayed below the respective event segment in the event timeline 822.The event timeline can be scrolled up or down with an up or down swipeinput.

A close event control 826 is provided in some embodiments. Selection ofthe close event control 826 closes the event timeline display 820 andnavigates to the general timeline display 800, shown in FIG. 27.

A score ticker display 828 is displayed in some embodiments, andselection of the score ticker display 828 closes the event timelinedisplay 820 and navigates to the multi-event interactive scoreboarddisplay 780, shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 29 illustrates another example of a scoreboard navigation feature,as well as additional details of the event timeline display 820 (shownin FIG. 28). FIG. 29 also depicts an example time indicator 830.

The scoreboard display 750 includes a plurality of scored segmentdisplays 770 associated with scored segments of the event. Selection ofone of the scored segment displays 770, such as the scored segmentdisplay 770A associated with the top of the third inning, automaticallyupdates the event timeline display 820 to show event segment displays824 that are associated with the scored segment. In this example, eventsegment displays 824F, G, and H are shown, which are all associated withthe top of the third inning.

Some embodiments include a time indicator 830 that is used to display atime associated with a position on the timeline. The time indicator 830is provided in both the general timeline display 800 (FIG. 27) and theevent timeline display 820, in some embodiments. In some embodiments thetimeline indicator displays a start time and date (e.g., 10:34 AM; 30Sep. 2012) associated with an event segment 824G that is currentlyvertically aligned with the time indicator 830, as well as the scoredsegment (e.g., top of the third inning) associated with the eventsegment 824G. When the timeline is scrolled using a swipe input, thetime displayed by the time indicator changes accordingly.

To avoid obscuring the view of the media content cards and event segmentdisplays 824 in the timeline display 820, the time indicator 830automatically fades after a predetermined time period (such as in arange from about one to five seconds) has elapsed without user input.The time indicator 830 reappears when an input is detected into thetimeline display 820.

In some embodiments the time indicator 830 also includes a search filtertoggle button 832. In some embodiments the search filter toggle buttonis selectable to toggle a search filter on and off. In some embodiments,the time indicator 830 is displayed in a first color (e.g., black) whenthe search filter is turned off, and in a second color (e.g., red) whenthe search filter is turned on. In this way, the time indicator 830provides a convenient indication of whether or not a search filter iscurrently applied.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example of multiple different timeline views thatare available in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, general and event timelines can be quickly filteredby switching between multiple different views. In this example, ageneral timeline is displayed in four different views including a MyCards view, All Fans view, Following view, and Single User view. Theuser can quickly scroll between the views by swiping left or right toscroll left or right in the order depicted in FIG. 30, in someembodiments. In another possible embodiment, the single user view is notaccessible in this manner, but is only accessible after selecting aparticular user of interest.

The MyCards view displays only those media content cards that weregenerated by the user that is currently logged into the event-relateduser interaction system 111 (shown in FIG. 1).

The All Fans view displays all media content cards that are available.

The Following view displays only those media content cards that weregenerated by users that the current user has chosen to follow.

The single user view displays only those media content cards that weregenerated by a selected user.

The event timeline display described herein can be similarly filteredaccording to these views in some embodiments.

Some embodiments include more, fewer, or different available views.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example search filter definition display 850,such as provided by the search filter definition engine 434, shown inFIG. 8. In some embodiments the search filter definition engine 434cooperates with the search filter engine 224 (FIG. 4) of the server 102to perform search operations.

In this example, the search filter definition display 850 includes aplurality of search filter categories, including a keyword filter 852,card content filters 854, event filters 856, team filters 858, playerfilters 860, and statistic filters 862.

Within each category are a plurality of available filters that can beselected to define a search filter to be applied.

The keyword filter 852 includes a text field in which one or morekeywords can be entered. Some embodiments permit Boolean operators to beused. In some embodiments hash tags can also be searched through thekeyword filter 852.

The card content filters 854 permit the selection of one or morepossible card content items, such as a photograph, video, headline,commentary, or icon. The card content filters can be used to locatecards having the selected content items. In another possible embodiment,the icon filter can be used to search for media content cards having aparticular icon. In this example, the icon button is selected to displayan icon selection window in which the specific icon(s) can be selected.

The event filters 856 permit the selection of a particular event. Uponselection of the event filters 856 category, an event list is providedalong with a date selection control. One or more events can be selected.

Team filters 858, player filters 860, and statistics filters cansimilarly be used to select one or more teams, players, and statisticsto be used for filtering.

Another example of a search filter category is a location (not shown inFIG. 31). The location filter can be used to identify one or more of: alocation at which the media content was captured, and a location of oneor more subjects in the media content. In some embodiments, and asdiscussed herein, the location can be a specific position, or a region,for example. In some embodiments, when the location filter is selected,a map display is shown, such as one of the map displays shown in FIGS.18-20. The user can then select a position or region from the mapdisplay to conduct a search for media content cards associated with thatlocation. The location can also be identified in other ways, such as byselecting the location from a menu.

Another example of a search filter category is a direction (not shown inFIG. 31). The direction filter can be used to identify a direction thatthe recording device was pointing when the media content was captured.

As one example, a location and direction can be identified with a touchsensitive display by touching a position in the map display (e.g., FIGS.18-20) and then swiping a finger in a direction. The touch inputidentifies the location and the direction of the swipe identifies thedirection.

For a video production, search filters such as a date, a season, aperson (e.g., user/actor/player/musician) can be used.

In some embodiments search filters can include popularity filters (e.g.,most popular content) or time filters (e.g., on a particular date, at aparticular time, within a range of dates or times, most recent content).

A cancel button 864 can be selected to exit the search filter definitiondisplay 850. A search button 866 can be selected to apply the searchfilter.

In some embodiments, multiple filters can be applied simultaneously,such as to search for cards including a photograph that are also taggedto a particular team. However, some filters can conflict with eachother, such that if both of the filters are applied simultaneously, thesearch would, by definition, result in no hits. To avoid this situation,some embodiments include a conflicting event search auto-exclusionfeature. This feature utilizes a list of conflicting filters. When oneof the filters is selected, the conflicting filters are automaticallydisabled to prevent the user from selecting the conflicting filter. Inthis way, the system prevents conflicting filters from being applied.

Upon selection of the search button 866, a search is conducted for eventsegments and/or cards that match the search, and the respectivetimelines are displayed including the event segments and/or mediacontent cards that match the search filter criteria.

Some embodiments include an intelligent auto-search feature. Theauto-search feature is executed when a search filter is applied and doesnot result in any hits in the current timeline or the current view ofthe timeline. Rather than just indicating that no results were found,the auto-search feature automatically executes an expanded search forresults matching the search filter outside of the current timelineand/or outside of the current view of that timeline.

In one example embodiment, after an unsuccessful search is performed, aNo Results Found message is displayed for a period of time (e.g., twoseconds). An expanded auto-search is then automatically activated whichattempts to locate additional results outside of the current view andoutside of the current timeline. In some embodiments the views andtimelines are searched in a predetermined order. For example, views aresearched in order from: My Cards, All Fans, Following, and One Fan, andtimelines are searched in order from: event timeline to generaltimeline.

The expanded auto-search attempts to hits (in some embodiments, two ormore hits) and continues expanding the search until the hits are locatedor until the search fails. During this process, an indicator isdisplayed showing that the expanded auto-search is in progress. Ifresults are found, a results message is displayed, and the expandedauto-search results are displayed.

Another feature of some embodiments is a persistent search feature. Oncea search filter has been defined using the search filter definitiondisplay 850 and applied, the search filter remains on as the usernavigates between general and event timelines, and also between thevarious possible views of those timelines (as shown in FIGS. 27-30).This feature allows the user to navigate between the various displayswithout having to re-execute the search each time for a differentdisplay. The search filter can be toggled on or off using the timelineindicator, such as illustrated and described with reference to FIG. 29.The search filter can also be cleared or modified as shown in FIG. 32.

FIG. 32 illustrates additional search editing functionality that isprovided in some embodiments.

For example, when the computing device has a touch sensitive display,touch inputs can be used to adjust search criteria. A search criteriascreen uses gestures to access editing options. For example, swiping tothe left or to the right will expose tools.

A swipe to the left exposes the clear button for that search criteria.Tapping on the clear button clears that search criteria from the searchquery, removing all selections that have been made for that searchcriteria.

A swipe to the right exposes the ALL ON/OFF buttons. Tapping on the ALLON/OFF buttons allow the search criteria to be selectively activated ordeactivated from the search query. When deactivated, the search criteriaselections are allowed to remain but are deactivated. In this way, ifthe user wants to reuse the search criteria at a later time, the ALLON/OFF button can simply be selected without requiring the user tore-enter the search criteria selections.

FIGS. 33-36 illustrate additional aspects of the content interactionengine 432, which are present in some embodiments.

FIG. 33 is a screen shot of another example of an event timeline display820. As discussed herein, in some embodiments the event timelineincludes event segment displays 824, in which the media content cards802 can also be displayed.

Navigation controls are provided to assist the user in navigating withinthe user interface. In this example the navigation controls includescoreboard display 750 and close event control 826. The time indicator830 is also provided to display the time associated with the currentlydisplayed position in the event timeline display 820.

In some embodiments the navigation controls are initially displayed inthe event timeline display 820, but are then retracted or otherwisedisappear from view once the user has scrolled the event timelinedisplay 820 up or down (such as with an up or down swipe input).

FIG. 34 is a screen shot of the example event timeline display 820 afterthe navigation controls shown in FIG. 33 have disappeared. As can beseen, the removal of the navigation controls from the user interfacepermits viewing of a larger portion of the event timeline display 820,because the navigation controls no longer obscure from view a portion ofthe event timeline display 820.

In some embodiments, the navigation controls reappear upon selection ofthe time indicator 830. For example, a tap input onto the time indicator830 causes the navigation controls to extend or otherwise be displayedin the user interface, as shown in FIG. 33.

It can be seen that the time indicator 830 also obscures a small portionof the timeline display 820 from view. As a result, in some embodimentsafter a period of time has elapsed without receipt of an input into theevent timeline display 820, the time indicator fades or otherwisedisappears from view, revealing the previously hidden portion of theevent timeline display 820, as shown in FIG. 35.

FIG. 35 is a screen shot of the example event timeline display 820 afterthe time indicator 830 (FIG. 34) has disappeared from view. As can beseen, the removal of the time indicator 830 permits viewing of theportion of the event timeline display 820 that was previously hiddenfrom view.

To view the time indicator 830, the user simply provides an input intothe user interface, such as by scrolling the event timeline display upor down with a swipe input, for example. Upon receipt of the input, thetime indicator 830 returns to the display as previously shown in FIG.34.

FIG. 36 is another screen shot of the example event timeline display820. In this example, a navigation menu is displayed.

Another feature provided in some embodiments is a navigation menu 880.To permit a user to more quickly access certain features of theevent-related user interaction system 111, a navigation menu 880 isdisplayed in some embodiments when a long tap input is detected into theuser interface. The long tap is, for example, a tap input that lingersfor a predetermined period of time. The period of time is typically setby the operating system, and is longer than the length of time requiredfor a tap input. A long tap input can be an input of greater than about0.25, 0.5, 0.75, or 1 second, for example. Upon receipt of the long tap,the navigation menu 880 is displayed. In some embodiments, thenavigation menu includes a set of buttons. In some embodiments thebuttons include one or more internal navigation control buttons, and oneor more external interaction control button. The internal navigationcontrol buttons are provided to navigate to internal features of theevent-related user interaction system 111. The external interactioncontrol buttons are used to share content with external sources, such aswith a third-party social media system 132 (FIG. 1).

The internal navigation control buttons include, in this example, amedia recorder button 882, a card generator button 884, a search button886, a user search control 888, and a profile button 890. The externalinteraction control buttons include, for example, a share button 892.

The media recorder button 882 can be selected to initiate the mediarecorder 442 (FIG. 11). The card generator button 884 can be selected toinitiate the card generator interface 520 (FIG. 13). The search button886 can be selected to initiate the search filter definition display 850(FIG. 31). The user search control 888 can be selected to initiate theuser search interface to search for another user. The profile button 890can be selected to load a profile page that displays the user's own userprofile data. The share button 892 can be selected to initiate thesharing of information of media content with a third-party social mediasystem 132 (FIG. 1).

In some embodiments the navigation control has a honeycomb shape, whereeach button has a hexagonal shape, and surrounds an open space (at thelocation of the initial input at point 878) also having a hexagonalspace. In some embodiments the space at point 878 includes anothercontrol button. In another possible embodiment, the space can be usedfor an advertisement, such as including a logo or other graphic.

In some embodiments the navigation menu 880 is available anywhere, ornearly anywhere, in the user interface. In this example, the userprovided a long tap input into a point 878 where there is an open spacein the event timeline display 820, but other locations can also be used,such as directly on one of the event segment displays 824, or elsewhere.The system distinguishes between a selection input and a navigation menurequest by the duration of the input that is provided, such as discussedabove. A benefit of the navigation menu being displayed with the longtap input is that the navigation menu does not have to be constantlydisplayed on the screen where it would occupy space that can otherwisebe used for other purposes. Instead, it can be entirely hidden from viewuntil the user needs it, thereby allowing the space to be used for otherfeatures, such as the display of a larger portion of the event timelinedisplay 820.

Another aspect of some embodiments involves push notifications to alertthe user to prepare to capture a moment that may be about to occur. Inorder to encourage the capturing of noteworthy moments of an event, insome embodiments the system 100 provides push notifications to alertusers to an event that may be about to occur. For example, if a baseballplayer comes to the plate having 199 career home runs, the event-relateduser interaction system can alert the user that the batter may be aboutto hit his 200^(th) home run of his career. Alerts can be generated forany purpose, such as to notify a user to a potential epic, historic, orsignificant moment of an event. The alert can be provided in the form ofa pop-up alert, a banner notice, a vibration, a sound, a graphic, andthe like. In some embodiments the alert includes a button (or otherselectable control) that can be selected to initiate the media recorder(or to another camera function of the mobile computing device or otherrecording device) to allow the user to be ready to capture the eventwith the media recorder. In some embodiments the selection of theselectable control causes the initiation of the recording function in aready-to-capture/record mode, reducing the change that the user missesthe opportunity to capture the event due to having to navigate menus andinitiate the capture/recording function of the device. The notificationprovides several benefits, in some embodiments, by increasing the use ofthe media recorder to capture important moments within an event, byincreasing the amount of media content that is captured and saved as apermanent historical record of the moment, and by making the user awareof the fact that he or she has an opportunity to participate indocumenting and capturing this moment.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 900 ofcontextualizing media content. In this example, the method 900 includesoperations 902, 904, and 906.

The operation 902 is performed to receive media content. The mediacontent can include any one or more of a text-based message, a picture,an audio file, and a video, for example. In one example the mediacontent is received through the media recorder 442, shown in FIG. 10. Inanother example, the media content is received through a user interfacefor receiving media content. Examples of such user interfaces are one ormore of the media recorder 442 (FIG. 10) user interfaces and one of theuser interfaces shown in FIGS. 38-40. Other embodiments include otheruser interfaces.

In some embodiments the media content is received directly from a userat the time it is generated. In other embodiments, the media content isreceived later, after it has been generated, such as from anothercomputing device. For example, in some embodiments the receipt of mediacontent of operation 902 occurs through a data transfer from anothercomputing device or other device, such as in the form of an importprocess, API feed, or other data transfer.

In some embodiments media content is received from an external source.Examples of external sources include an API feed, a point and shootcamera, a digital camera, an article source, a photo source, a socialmedia source, a news provider, a broadcast or cable television or mediacompany, and the like.

Another example of media content is an article or an essay. In someembodiments the articles or essays are or include text-based content.Articles and essays can also or alternatively include other content,such as a picture or other graphic, and even video or audio recordings.Further, in some embodiments the media content is an excerpt or portionof an article or essay, such as a title, a summary, or other excerpt.

In some embodiments the media content includes a link, such as ahyperlink including a URL that provides a link to other or externalcontent. For example, the link can include a link to a web siteproviding the full content of the article or essay. In anotherembodiment the media content is or includes a PDF file, or includes alink to a PDF file, such as a PDF file containing the full content ofthe article or essay.

The operation 904 is performed to process media content. In someembodiments, the processing of media content is performed to associatethe media content with contextual event-related data. For example, insome embodiments the operation 904 utilizes one or more of a time, alocation, a keyword, an identification of an event, and a user name,and/or other information, to identify a context of the media content. Insome embodiments the media content is then associated with an event, andevent-related data. An example of the operation 904 is illustrated anddescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 41.

The operation 906 is performed to provide access to the media contentusing the contextual event-related data. In some embodiments the mediacontent is included in a media content display, such as any one of thedisplays described herein. For example, the media content can beincluded in an event timeline, a general timeline, a user timeline, andthe like. In some embodiments, the media content is made available forsearching using the contextual event-related data, and is thereforedisplayed in a search results display, or other filtered contentdisplay. In some embodiments the media content is included in a contentfeed. Other embodiments utilize the media content in other ways based onthe contextual event-related data, such as those discussed herein.Several additional examples of the operation 906 are illustrated anddescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 42-50.

In some embodiment the processing of media content in operation 904 isperformed contemporaneous to the generation of the media content. Inother embodiments, the processing of operation 904 is performed a periodof time after the media content is generated, such as minutes, hours,days, weeks, months, or even years after the media content is originallygenerated.

FIGS. 38-40 illustrate examples of user interfaces for receiving mediacontent, and also illustrate examples of media content that can bereceived, such as through the operation 902, shown in FIG. 37.

FIG. 38 is a screen shot illustrating an example user interface 910 forreceiving media content from a user. In this example, the user interface910 includes a content entry window 912, keypad 914, and publicationcontrol 916, which are used to receive a message 918 from the user. Themessage 918 is an example of media content.

In some embodiments the user interface 910 is displayed on a display ofa computing device 110 (shown in FIG. 1), such as the mobile computingdevice 120 or computing device 122. In some embodiments the userinterface 910 is generated by an app or software application running onthe computing device. In other embodiments the interface is generated bythe server 102 or another system, such as the third-party social mediasystem 132. In some embodiments the server 102 and the third-partysocial media system 132 are the same system or parts of the same system.

The content entry window 912 is a region of the user interface 910 thatoperates to display a message 918 received from the user. In thisexample, an on screen keypad 914 is provided in the user interface. Theuser can touch directly onto the keypad through a touch sensitivedisplay to enter the message 918 into the content entry window 912.Other types of input devices can also be used in other embodiments, suchas a physical keypad or keyboard, a voice input device such as amicrophone, and the like. Voice inputs can be recorded as media content,or can be processed using voice recognition software, for example, togenerate text-based media content. Voice inputs can also be used forother purposes, such as for voice commands (for initiating actions,serving up content, providing a search query for a voice-enabledsearch), including voice controlled navigation through various menus oruser interface displays.

Some embodiments utilize a gesture detection device, such as a videocamera or the Microsoft™ Kinect system to detect gesture inputs based onthe movement of the user's body.

In some embodiments a publication control 916 is provided in the userinterface. Upon completion of the generation of the message 918, thepublication control is selected by the user to initiate publication ofthe message 918.

In some embodiments the message 918 is associated with one or more timestamps. Examples of time stamps are discussed herein. For example, someembodiments include an initiation time stamp that identifies the timethat the user provided an input indicating a desire to generate themessage 918. Some embodiments include a publication time stamp thatidentifies the time that the user selected the publication control 916,or the time that the message 918 was received at the server 102, forexample. In some embodiments a time stamp is included in media contentmetadata. Some embodiments include a time stamp indicating a timeidentified by the user for the message 918. Other embodiments include atime stamp associated with an event segment identified by the user.Other time stamps are used in other embodiments.

For example, a time stamp can be generated at any point in the processof generating or communicating a media content item. One example is amoment capture time stamp, which occurs when a user provides an inputindicating a desire to provide media content (e.g., selection of acapture button, or selection of a control indicating a desire togenerate a new media content item, etc.). Another example is thepublication time stamp. In addition, in some embodiments time stamps aretime adjusted forward or backward from a given moment, such as toaccount for a known or likely time delay. In some embodiments timestamps are adjusted based on actions that occur during an event, such asto automatically shift the time stamp to a closest time stamp at which amajor action occurred during the event. Time stamps may also be capturedby a separate device, and associated with the media content at a latertime.

In some embodiments the message 918 is a text-based message. In someembodiments the message includes a series of characters. In someembodiments a length of the message is limited to a predeterminedquantity of characters, such as 40, 120, 140, 160, 5,000, or 63,206characters. Examples of messages 918 include the headlines andcommentary discussed herein.

In this example, the message 918 is composed entirely of characters ofthe English alphabet. In some embodiments, messages include keywords. Anexample of a keyword is a word contained in or associated withevent-related data 114, discussed herein. For example, the message 918shown in FIG. 38 states: “Cabrera just blasted a RUTHIAN home run!” Inthis example, the words “Cabrera” 920 and “home run” 922 are keywordsthat are associated with the event-related data 114. More specifically,the word “Cabrera” is the last name of a player in a baseball game (see,e.g., record 402, FIG. 7, for example), and the word “home run” is akeyword for an action (see, e.g., plays record 396 shown in FIG. 7 andaction data item 170, shown in FIG. 6) that occurred during the event.In this example, no action is required by the user to identify the wordsas keywords, and no knowledge of the keywords is required by the userwhen typing the message 918. Keywords can include one or more words, andcan include one or more of letters, numbers, symbols, or any othercharacters.

In some embodiments the media content includes other content, inaddition to or in lieu of the message 918, such as a photograph, video,etc. In some embodiments the media content includes a location, such asa GPS coordinate or other location identifier.

FIG. 39 is another screen shot of the example user interface 910 shownin FIG. 38.

In this example, the message 918 states: “Miggy goes yard! #HR.” Thisexample, like the example shown in FIG. 38, includes several keywords,such as keywords 924 and 926. The keyword 924 is “Miggy.” The keyword isa known nickname for the player, Miguel Cabrera. In some embodimentsplayer nicknames are stored in a database (e.g., FIG. 7) or received asevent-related data 114 (FIG. 1), which associate such nicknames with theplayer or other event participant, for example.

The keyword 926 is “#HR.” In this example, the keyword begins with asymbol, such as a pound or hash symbol, sometimes referred to as ahashtag. In some embodiments, the symbol identifies the keyword 926 as akeyword. In this example, the characters following the keyword are anabbreviation “HR” which stands for “home run.” In some embodimentsabbreviations are stored in a database (e.g., FIG. 7) or received asevent-related data 114 (FIG. 1), which associate the abbreviations withother keywords used in the database or event-related data 114 (FIG. 1).

In some embodiments a keyword is an identifier.

FIG. 40 is another screen shot of the example user interface 910 shownin FIG. 38.

In this example, the message 918 states: “@MiguelCabrera for MVP!#tigers #MLB.” This example also includes several keywords, includingkeywords 928, 930, and 932.

In some embodiments, keywords of the message 918 include a username. Inthis example, the keyword 928 is the username: “@MiguelCabrera.” In someembodiments the username begins with a symbol, such as the @ symbol toidentify the keyword as a username. In other embodiments, the usernamedoes not begin with a symbol. In some embodiments usernames are storedin the database or are received as event-related data. In otherembodiments the username itself can be parsed to identify a known namethat is associated with the username, or likely to be associated withthe username. A username can identify a particular person, an event, ora group (such as a team), for example. In some embodiments a username isa handle.

In this example, the message 918 also includes the keyword 930 “#tigers”and the keyword 932 “#MLB.” For example, the keyword “#tigers” is a teamname associated with the Detroit Tigers baseball team, and the keyword#MLB is an abbreviation for Major League Baseball.

These examples illustrate just a few of the many different examples ofkeywords that can be included in a message, or other media content.Keywords can identify any one or more of a team or group, a player orevent participant, a statistic, a location, an event venue, or a generaltopic or association, for example. Any data included in the database(e.g., such as the example shown in FIG. 7) or receiving in theevent-related data stream can be usable as a keyword in someembodiments. Additionally, any keywords that can be identified as beingassociated with such data can also be usable as a keyword. Examples ofthese include abbreviations (associated with the words they represent),nicknames (associated with the name of a person), usernames (associatedwith the name of a person), and the like.

FIGS. 39 and 40 illustrate that media content can be displayed alongwith one or more keywords, or other event-related data. In someembodiments the event-related data is original content provided with themedia content, and in other embodiments the event-related data is taggedto the media content. For example, the display 910 can display a keyword(including a hashtag) for a sports team (e.g., “Tigers” or “#Tigers”) towhich the media content relates. Any of the event-related dataassociated with the media content can be displayed in a media card orother display of media content. In some embodiments the event-relateddata is displayed in or adjacent to the media content in a media contentdisplay, and in other embodiments the event-related data is displayed insuch a way to show an association between the media content and theevent-related data. Media content displays can be similarly generatedand displayed by external sources, such as a social media system 134 orsearch engine 135, for example, including both the media content and anyone or more of the event related data items associated with the mediacontent.

FIG. 41 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of theoperation 904, shown in FIG. 37, for processing of media content toassociate media content with contextual event-related data. FIG. 41 alsoillustrates an example of an intelligent contexting engine 940.

Depicted in FIG. 41 are the intelligent contexting engine 940, anexample of media content 942, and portions of event related data 114. Inthis example, the media content 942 includes the example message 918shown in FIG. 38, as well as a time stamp 944, and a location 946. Inother embodiments the media content 942 can include more, less, or othercontent.

In some embodiments the media content 942 is processed by an intelligentcontexting engine 940, which operates to identify contextual informationassociated with the media content 942 (and therefore also associatedwith the message 918). The matching engine 206 (FIG. 5) is anotherexample of an intelligent contexting engine.

In some embodiments, the intelligent contexting engine 940 compares thedata contained in the media content 942 to event-related data 114 todetermine whether any matches can be identified. In this example,multiple matches are identified. For example, the keyword 920 “Cabrara”is found to match a name of an event participant in the player record402 for player Miguel Cabrera. The keyword 924 “home run” is found tomatch an action item 396 in play record 396. The time stamp is found tomatch the time of an action item in the play record 396. The location isfound to match a GPS coordinate of an event venue in the event venuerecord 354.

In some embodiments matches can be full or partial matches. In someembodiments thresholds or ranges are used to identify matches, such thatidentical matches are not required.

The intelligent contexting engine 940 then, in some embodiments,utilizes the matches to associate the media content withcontextual-event related data. For example, using the location and timestamp, the intelligent contexting engine 940 determines that a baseballgame between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics occurred atComerica field on May 5, 2013 and was in progress at 5:55 pm. Inaddition, the intelligent contexting engine 940 also determines an eventsegment associated with the media content 942 by identifying aparticular play that occurred at 5:55 pm, during which Miguel Cabrerahit a home run. Therefore, the media content 942 is tagged, or otherwiseassociated, with the event and the event segment by the intelligentcontexting engine 940.

In some embodiments the various data of the media content 942 is used bythe intelligent contexting engine to determine a likelihood that themedia content 942 is associated with certain contextual information. Insome embodiments a relevance score or confidence level score isgenerated based on the matches. As one example, if the relevance scoreor confidence level score exceeds a threshold value, the media content942 is determined to be associated with the contextual information. Asanother example, one or more keywords in a text-based message describinghow epic Mauer's home run was, which occurred three innings ago, can begiven a higher relevance score than a creation or publication time stampassociated with the media content item, so that the media content itemis properly associated with the moment that the home run occurred. Inother words, certain contextual information can be used by theintelligent contexting engine to override other contextual information,in some embodiments.

In some embodiments a user is prompted to verify the proposedassociation, while in other embodiments the association is madeautomatically without additional user involvement. In some embodiments auser is prompted to verify the association, or to select from multiplepossible associations, when the relevance score or confidence level isbelow a threshold, or when the intelligent contexting engine cannotdecide between multiple possible options.

In some embodiments keywords or other information contained in the mediacontent 942 can also be used to determine that certain contextualinformation is not associated with the media content, such as to reducethe relevance score. For example, a message containing the keywords“baby” and “twins” may be determined to be less likely to be related tothe Minnesota Twins baseball team than a message that only contains thekeyword “twins” without the keyword “baby.”

Other embodiments utilize additional information to determine theassociation between media content and contextual information. As oneexample, some embodiments include an event identification or eventcheck-in feature in which a user can select a particular event that heor she is currently participating in. An event identifier is thenprovided with the media content 942, for example, to permit theintelligent contexting engine 940 to associate the media content 942with the event and all associated event-related data.

In another possible embodiment, a user provides the contextualinformation in the form of an instruction to associate the media contentwith certain event-related data. For example, the user can provide avoice input that states: “tag to Mauer's home run against the Tigerstoday.” The voice input is processed to determine the date (today), theevent (a game involving a player named “Mauer” and a team named the“Tigers”), and a particular play (Mauer's home run). The contextualinformation is processed and identified in the event-related data to tagthe media content to the play, game, and all other event-related dataassociated with the event. In some embodiments, the user can be promptedto clarify any ambiguity. For example, if Mauer had multiple home runsin the game, the system could prompt the user whether it should betagged to the home run in the first inning or the home run in the sixthinning.

Some embodiments obtain or generate other contextual information. Forexample, some embodiments obtain information from an externalcommunication device transmits information to the user's computingdevice to provide contextual information. One example is GPS data.Another example is a near field communication device. In anotherexample, the external communication device is a wearable or implantablecommunication device. For example, a player can wear or have implanted acommunication device that transmits the player's name or other playeridentifier. The user's computing device 110 receives the transmissionand includes the identifying information with the media content 942. Inanother embodiment, the media content 942 can be processed to generateadditional contextual information. As one example, a photograph or videocontained in the media content 942 can be processed for identifyinginformation, such as to identify a person using facial recognitiontechniques (e.g., using the DeepFace™ facial recognition system ofFacebook™, Google's object recognition engine, Google info cards, etc.),or to identify a location using photographic recognition techniques(e.g., to identify a portion of a particular baseball stadium that isvisible in the photograph or video), or identification techniques. Soundrecognition can also be used in some embodiments to aide in determiningcontext. For example, sounds can be compared with an audio feed at anevent to match the sounds to the event and/or a particular moment of theevent. Background noise may be processed to provide further contextualinformation. The sounds can be part of the media content or may becaptured separate from the media content, such as through a microphone270 of the computing device, shown in FIG. 5. Of course, any recordingor processing of photographs, video, or sounds through the microphone270 occurs only with explicit permission from the user and in limitedcircumstances permitted by the user in order to carefully protect theuser's privacy. Some embodiments utilize image metadata or other mediacontent metadata. Some embodiments utilize data tagged to or manuallyassociated with media content.

In some embodiments the intelligent contexting engine also associatesthe media content 942 with all other related data, such as the teamnames, player statistics, and any other known data (such as the exampledata shown in FIG. 7, or other data). This association can be performedbased, for example, on the known relationships identified in theevent-related database. Notably, the media content 942 can therefore beassociated with contextual information including contextual informationthat is included in the media content, and also contextual informationthat is not originally included in the media content 942 (e.g., the nameof the team (Detroit Tigers) that Miguel Cabrera is on, etc.). In fact,a message 918 need not contain keywords or other contextual informationto be properly associated with the contextual information (e.g., basedon the time, location, and/or other information).

Also notably, the media content 942 need not be individually associateddirectly with each of the relevant event-related data items, but rathercan be simply associated with one (or more) of the data items, such as aparticular event or event segment. By associating the media content 942with the event segment, all other data items that are associated withthat event segment (e.g., the event, the players in the event, the timeof the event, the location of the event, event statistics, playerstatistics, the team names, etc.) are automatically also associated withthe media content 942, for example. This permits a large amount ofcontextual data to be associated with the media content 942.

In some embodiments the intelligent contexting engine is used to processmedia content shortly after it is created, such as upon receipt of themedia content by the server 102 (FIG. 1). In other embodiments, theintelligent contexting engine is used to process a database or othercollection of historical media content records, to automaticallyassociate the media content stored therein with contextual information.

In some embodiments the intelligent contexting engine receives the mediacontent, and/or data associated with the media content, from an externalsource. For example, in some embodiments the media content is receivedthrough an API feed. In some embodiments the contextual information isoutput to an external source after identifying the contextualinformation, such as through an API feed.

FIGS. 42-49 illustrate examples of operation 906, shown in FIG. 37, forproviding access to the media content using the contextual event-relateddata. Other example displays are also discussed previously herein, whichare also suitable for displaying media content. Further, numerous otherdisplays are also possible, in addition to the specific examplesillustrated herein.

FIG. 42 is a screen shot of an example display 950 for displayingmessage 918, or other media content. In this example, the display 950includes a media content display 952 for displaying the message 918. Insome embodiments, the media content display 952 is part of a timelinedisplay, a content feed, or other display.

The media content display 952 includes media content, such as a message918. In some embodiments, the media content display 952 providescontextual information, or provides access to contextual information,relating to the media content.

For example, some embodiments include a contextual information display956. In this example, the contextual information display 956 includesone or more of a scoreboard display 958 and an event segment display960. The scoreboard display 958 displays a scoreboard for the event(e.g., a baseball game between Oakland and Detroit) associated with themedia content of message 918. In some embodiments the scoreboard display958 is selectable to cause the user interface to display additionalcontextual information, or to permit navigation to additional contextualinformation of interest.

The event segment display 960 displays information about the specificevent segment associated with the media content of message 918. Forexample, the event segment display 960 shows that the media content isassociated with an action that occurred in the bottom of the fifthinning in which Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run home run.

In some embodiments the contextual information display 956 is originallyhidden from view. In other embodiments the contextual informationdisplay 956 can be hidden from view. In some embodiments the contextualinformation display 956 is graphically depicted as a pull-out drawerthat can be opened or closed upon the receipt of an input, such as aswipe or tap input. A graphical icon or link is provided in someembodiments to indicate that the contextual information display 956 isavailable and to prompt the user to provide the input to view thecontextual information.

FIG. 43 is a screen shot of another example display 950 for displayingmessage 918, or other media content. In this example, the display 950includes another example media content display 952.

In this example, the media content display 952 includes a link 962 tocontextual information associated with the media content of message 918.As one example, the link 962 is a link to a particular event segmentassociated with the message 918. Upon selection of the link, additionalcontextual information is displayed. In some embodiments, the selectionof the link 962 causes navigation to another display providing thecontextual information. In another embodiment, the display 950 isupdated to show the contextual information, such as by providing thecontextual information display 956. In this example, the contextualinformation display 956 includes an event segment display 960. Otherembodiments include other contextual information displays. In someembodiments the contextual information displays are selectable todisplay or navigate to additional contextual information.

FIG. 44 is a screen shot of another example display 950 for displayingmedia content, such as a message 918. In this example, the display 950includes another example media content display 952.

In this example, the media content display 952 includes a link 964 tocontextual information associated with the media content of message 918.As one example, the link 964 is a link to additional information aboutthe event associated with the message 918. In some embodiments, theselection of the link 964 causes navigation to another display providingthe contextual information for the game. In another embodiment, thedisplay 950 is updated to show the contextual information, such as byproviding the contextual information display 956 in the media contentdisplay 952. In one example, the contextual information display 956includes the game scoreboard 958. Other embodiments include othercontextual information and displays. In some embodiments the gamescoreboard 958 or other contextual information is selectable to displayor navigate to additional contextual information.

FIGS. 45-50 illustrate other example displays.

FIG. 45 is a screen shot of an example team profile display 968 for ateam, such as the Detroit Tigers. In this example, the profile pageincludes a link 970 to contextual information. In this example, the link970 is selectable to display or navigate to additional contextualinformation, such as information about the events that the team hasplayed in, and/or specific plays in those games. Other contextualinformation is provided in other embodiments.

FIG. 46 is a screen shot of another example of the team profile display968 shown in FIG. 46. In this example, upon selection of the link 970, acontextual information display 972 is presented. In this example, thecontextual information display 972 includes a scoreboard and an eventsegment display displaying contextual information associated with theteam. Other embodiments provide other contextual information. In someembodiments the contextual information display 972 can be selected todisplay or navigate to additional contextual information.

FIG. 47 is a screen shot of an example player profile display 980. Inthis example, the player profile display 980 includes a link 982 toadditional contextual information associated with the player.

FIG. 48 is a screen shot of another example of the player profiledisplay 980. In this example, the player profile display 980 includes acontextual information display 984. In some embodiments the contextualinformation display 984 is toggled between a hidden and a visible stateupon selection of the link 982. In this example the contextualinformation display 984 includes an event segment display. In someembodiments the player profile display includes a timeline displayshowing event segments associated with the player, for example, and mayalso include additional media content associated with the eventsegments. Other contextual information displays 484 are included inother embodiments.

FIGS. 49 and 50 illustrate examples of another profile display for agroup, such as for the Major League Baseball organization. Contextualinformation associated with the group can be similarly presented,displayed, or made available for navigation through the profile display,such as through a link 992 and/or a contextual information display 994.

FIGS. 51-56 illustrate examples involving content volume graphs.

FIG. 51 is a screen shot illustrating an example content volume display1002. In this example, the content volume display 1002 includes acontent volume graph 1004 and a time scale 1006.

The content volume graph 1004 is a diagram that graphically depicts aquantity of media content over time. The time scale 1006 identifiescertain points in the content volume graph 1004.

The example shown in FIG. 51 depicts an example content volume display1002 for a baseball game. Therefore, in this example the time scale 1006includes identifiers for each of 9 innings (scored segments), as well asidentifiers for Pre-game activity and post-game activity.

The content volume graph 1004 shows the relative volume of media contentassociated with the various points in time in the game. For example, itcan be seen that there are spikes at the beginning of the first inning,the beginning of the third inning, and at the end of the fourth inning.These spikes correspond with points in the game that are associated withthe most media content. Because media content is often generated atpoints of particular interest, the points in the diagram that have thegreatest content often correspond to points of interest during an event.Therefore, a quick visual inspection of the content volume graph 1004can permit a user to quickly identify particular moments in a game, aswell as the media content associated with such moments. Otherembodiments include other event meter displays, of which the contentvolume graph 1004 is an example. In some embodiments the event meterdisplay, including the volume graph, includes a graphical display thatdepicts a magnitude of one or more aspects of an event over time. Oneexample of an aspect of an event is a volume of content items associatedwith a moment of the event. Another example is a number of points a teamobtains during a scored segment of an event. Runs, hits, errors, oractions can be similarly displayed in an event meter display, as well asany other quantifiable aspect of an event. Another aspect is a noiselevel, such as detected by a recording device or through a broadcast ofan event.

In the content volume graph 1004 the vertical axis typically representsa quantity of the media content received during an interval of time,such as during a scored segment, during an event segment, or otherinterval of time (e.g., 30 seconds, one minute, five minutes, etc.).

In some embodiments the time scale 1006 is displayed on or adjacent thecontent volume graph 1004. The time scale can show actual times (e.g.,7:00 PM) or time segments, such as identifiers of particular event orscored segments.

In some embodiments the content volume display 1002 is simply a displayproviding contextual information. For example, in some embodiments thecontent volume display 1002 includes a time identifier 1006 thatidentifies a particular point along the time scale 1006. When thecontent volume display 1002 is displayed adjacent a media content item,for example, the content volume display 1002 permits the user to quicklyidentify a point during the event that is associated with the mediacontent.

In other embodiments the content volume display 1002 is selectable. Forexample, a user can tap on or otherwise select the content volumedisplay 1002 to display or navigate to additional contextual informationor additional media content.

In yet other embodiments, the content volume display 1002 is a userinput control. For example, in some embodiments the user provides aninput into the content volume display 1004, such as by touching andsliding a finger along the display, or by providing other inputs such asa click, drag and drop input, etc. A selected point 1008 indicates thecurrent input location. As the user moves the point 1008 left or right,different times along the time scale 1006 are identified by the timeidentifier 1006. This input can be used to display or navigate toadditional contextual information or media content, for example.

FIG. 52 is a screen shot illustrating an example user interface 1010including the content volume display 1002 of FIG. 51. The examplecontent volume display 1002 includes a content volume graph 1004, a timescale 1006, a time identifier 1006, and a selected point 1008.

In this example, the content volume graph 1004 includes a media contentprevious window 1014. In some embodiments the media content previewwindow 1014 shows a preview of media content associated with the pointin the event identified by the time identifier 1006, such as the 6^(th)inning. The media content depicted in the preview window can includephotographs, videos, text, or any other media content in someembodiments. In other embodiments the media content shown in the contentpreview window 1014 is only pictures. In some embodiments only selectedmedia items are shown in the preview window 1014, such as based on anumber of views or other factors.

In some embodiments the content volume display 1002 is a user inputcontrol. Upon receipt of an input to the left or right, the timeindicator 1006 is adjusted to the selected time. Similarly, the contentpreview window 1014 updates, such as by appearing to scroll to the leftor to the right, to show content associated with the newly selected timeduring the event.

In some embodiments the content preview window 1014 is selectable. Insome embodiments the individual media content thumbnails are selectableto display or navigate to that media content or additional contextualinformation.

FIG. 53 is a screen shot illustrating another example of the userinterface 1010 including the content volume display 1002 of FIG. 51. Theexample content volume display 1002 includes a content volume graph1004, a time scale 1006, a time identifier 1006, and a selected point1008.

In this example, the user interface 1010 includes the content volumedisplay 1002 and an event segment display 1016.

The event segment display 1016 displays contextual informationassociated with the event segment in the game occurring at the timeidentified by the time indicator 1008.

In some embodiments the time indicator 1008 is adjustable, and in someembodiments upon movement of the time indicator 1008 in the contentvolume graph 1004, the event segment display 1016 is updatedaccordingly.

FIG. 54 is a screen shot illustrating another example of the userinterface 1010 including the content volume display 1002 of FIG. 51. Inthis example, the user interface 1010 includes the content volumedisplay 1002, an event segment display 1016, as well as a scoreboard1018.

In this example, the content volume display 1002 does not include a timescale display 506.

FIG. 55 is a screen shot illustrating another example of the userinterface 1010 including the content volume display 1002, the contentpreview window 1014, the event segment display 1016, and the scoreboard1018.

Additional combinations of one or more of these components of theexample user interfaces are also possible to form yet other embodiments.

FIG. 56 is a screen shot illustrating another example of the userinterface 1010. In addition to the content volume display 1002, thecontent preview window 1014, the event segment display 1016, and thescoreboard 1018, shown in FIG. 54, this example also includes filtercontrols 1020.

The filter controls 1020 permit the user to define search criteria toidentify certain characteristics of desired media content. Examples ofsuch search filters are discussed herein.

Once the filter controls 1020 have been set to identify search criteria,in some embodiments the content volume display 1002 is updated to showthe volume of media content that matches the search criteria. Forexample, the search criteria can be used to filter out all media contentexcept that associated with a particular player, such as Joe Mauer. Thecontent volume graph 1004 is then updated to show the quantities ofmedia items that are associated with that player. Other search criteriacan also or alternatively be defined. This allows particular mediacontent of interest to the user to be quickly located, for example.

FIG. 57 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a media contentdisplay 1030. The media content display 1030 includes a media contentwindow 1032 that displays the media content (a photograph in thisexample), as well as contextual information display 1034 that displaysat least some of the contextual information associated with the mediacontent.

FIGS. 58-65 illustrate additional examples of the event-related mediamanagement system 100. In these examples, the event-related mediamanagement system 100 operates to receive and store media associatedwith video productions and to subsequently provide access to that media.

Referring briefly back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments the events of theevent-related media management system 100 are the video productionsthemselves. Examples of video productions include television programsand movies. Such video productions can be distributed in a variety offorms, such as through a cable television (TV) provider, satellite TVprovider, or broadcast television. Video products are also distributedacross the Internet in a variety of forms, including on-demand streamingvideo providers and also in physical form, such as encoded on DVDs.Examples of video products include situational comedies, news programs,reality TV shows, game shows, sports games, movies, and concerts.

In some embodiments, media content can also be generated with or inputby a user through a television, or another computing device in proximityto the television (e.g., in the same room as the television). In someembodiments, media content entered through a television or othercomputing device around the television is automatically associated withvideo production that was playing on the television when the mediacontent was initiated, created, or published, for example. This can beparticularly useful with non-live video productions, includingtelevision shows that are delayed in different time zones, onlinestreaming of movies, and on demand videos, for example, because itallows the media content to be easily associated with the event (thevideo production), an exact moment in the event, and situational detailsof that moment in the event, and as a result, to all other event-relatedcontent known to the event-related media management system 100.

A user can participate in the event from various locations. Often videoproducts are viewed from home on a computing device, such as atelevision or a computer, although they can also be viewed from manyother locations, such as at a hotel or a business, for example. Moviesare also often watched at movie theaters.

In some embodiments the event-related media management system 100provides the ability for a user to generate media associated with theevent, and to tag that media to the event. Examples of the media arediscussed herein, and include text-based messages, audio, photographs,video, combinations of these, or other forms of media content.

As one example, when a user is watching a news program, the user mayprovide a text-based message that includes a reaction to a particularstory. As another example, when the user is watching a competitiontelevision program, the user may provide a message reacting theannouncement of the winner. Users may also provide media content beforeor after events. Additional examples are discussed herein.

The event-related media management system 100 operates to connect themedia content provided by the user to the event, and to a vast amount ofdata related to and surrounding the event, such as names of participants(e.g., actors, characters, news anchors, judges, etc.), the actual videoproduction content, and any other information known to be related to theevent.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments the event-related mediamanagement system 100 includes an event-related data feed provider. Suchan event feed provider provides event-related data 114 related to theevent, such as related to the video product, in a similar manner to theprovision of such data for a sporting or other event as describedherein.

In some embodiments the event-related data is or includes text-basedtranscription of a part of or all of a video production. For example, insome embodiments the text-based transcription is received from theclosed captioning subtitles associated with a video production. Inanother possible embodiment the transcription is generated using voicerecognition technology, such as to process the sounds from an announcer.The transcript can be used in some embodiments as a “play-by-play”event-related data feed associated with the video production to whichthe media content can be tagged. In some embodiments the transcriptprovides the discrete action data (including the action data items) thatdescribe each action that occurs during the video production.

In some embodiments the event-related data includes participant data,which may be associated with the transcript, for example, whichidentifies the one or more participants, such as the name of thespeaker. In some embodiments the name of the person being spoken to isincluded. As one example, the event-related data for a given actionduring a situational comedy states: “Rachel is talking to Joey andRachel says ‘Hey Joey!’”.

In some embodiments the event-related data includes timestamps. In someembodiments the transcript data is associated with timestamps. In thesame way that the discrete action data 154 (see, FIG. 3) is associatedwith timestamps, the transcript data or other event data feed data cansimilarly be associated with timestamps.

One or more of a variety of possible timestamps can be provided. As oneexample, the timestamp is a time at which an action occurred. Forexample, the time at which words were spoken during the videoproduction. In some embodiments a timestamp is based on a clock time,such as 6:02 PM Pacific. In another embodiment, a timestamp identifies aduration from the start or to the end of the video production (e.g., 35minutes from the start of the video production).

Some television programs are broadcast at different times in differentparts of the world. For example, a television program may be aired at 6PM in each timezone (6 PM Eastern, 6 PM Central, 6 PM Mountain, and 6 PMPacific). Therefore, in some embodiments the timestamps are associatedwith certain locations or regions in which the television program wasbroadcast at that time. In some embodiments the action data isassociated with a broadcast timestamp indicating the time at which thebroadcasting of the action occurred.

When media content is provided, one or more timestamps associated withthe media content can be matched with one or more timestamps associatedwith the video production. The matching process can include adetermination of the user's location, for example, and the determinationof which broadcast timestamp is applicable at that location.

There are numerous possible ways to determine that media contentprovided by a user should be associated with a given event. Many ofthose are previously discussed herein, such as by the evaluation of akeyword, a hashtag, based on a check-in to the event, and the like.

Further, in some embodiments a computing device can be used to detectthe event, or even a particular moment during the event. For example, insome embodiments a microphone is used to detect sounds. The sounds arecompared with a database of sounds associated with events (such as videoproductions) to identify the event that contains the sounds. Thedetection of the sounds can then be used to associate media contentprovided by the user with that event, or to identify the moment in theevent in which those sounds occurred. The media content can then betagged to the event and to the moment of the event. In another possibleembodiment a video camera is used. For example, the video camera can bedirected toward a television to permit the video production to becaptured by the video camera. The video is then compared with a databaseof video content to identify a matching video production, and can alsobe used to identify a particular moment during the video production.Tagging to the event and to the moment can then be accomplished. Thedetection of audio or video can occur at or about the time of mediacontent creation, periodically, or continuously. The detection can alsobe used to detect changing of channels or other transitions from onevideo production to another video production.

A video production event can be segmented in the same way as otherevent, such as discussed herein. For example, a video production caninclude individual actions, as well as groups of actions. Segments canbe defined by the actor/participant, for example, such that a firstsegment occurs while a first participant is talking or present, and asecond segment occurs while a second participant is talking or present.Segments can be defined by chapters or scenes. Segments can also bedefined by stories, such as during a news program discussing variousnews stories.

A robust database of event-related data relating to the video productionprovides an increased ability to tag the media content to specificaspects of the video product, and also provides for unique searchqueries that can be performed to identify media content relating tospecific aspects of the video product. Several of a vast variety of dataitems that can be included in the event-related data (including actiondata) include the name of a participant (e.g., an actor, character, orother person present in a video production), a physical feature of aparticipant (e.g., ponytail, wearing a red shirt, wearing a PRADA brandoutfit, blond hair), a musical instrument, genre of music, a song title,a word or phrase, a physical object (e.g., a golf club, such as a 9iron), dates, seasons (e.g., season 1, season 2, etc.), and the like.

Several exemplary screen shots are provided in FIGS. 58-65 to illustrateadditional aspects of some embodiments involving a video production.

FIG. 58 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a video productiontimeline, and more specifically an example of a timeline for a newsprogram.

In this example the timeline includes a header that identifies thetelevision network (CNN) and the television program (Anderson Cooper).The date and time that the television program was broadcast is alsodisplayed.

A carousel of stories is provided, which in this example provides athumbnail view of several adjacent stories within the news program. Insome embodiments the carousel can be scrolled to view prior andsubsequent stories during the program.

Some embodiments include a content volume graph that depicts the volumeof content that has been received for given portions of the televisionprogram. The greatest amount of content is depicted by the peak, whichis currently selected. The carousel shows that the peak relates to aportion of the story relating to a bombing in Boston. The content volumegraph is interactive, in some embodiments, to permit a user to select apoint or location, or provide a slide input, to navigate to other timeswithin the video production.

Some embodiments further include a ticker showing additional informationrelating to the event, to permit navigation to the associated portion ofthe video production, for example.

In some embodiments the news timeline also includes a listing of themedia content associated with the video production below. In otherembodiments, the display shown in FIG. 58 is a widget or display thatcan be provided in other contexts to provide links to the media contentand video production.

FIG. 59 is a screen shot illustrating an example of an individual postassociated with a video production event.

In this example, a user Simon Cowell has provided a text-based messageof “Interesting Rendition.” The text-based message was tagged by theevent-related media management system 100 to a video production, andmore specifically to a television program called American Idol. Thetagged program is shown. In some embodiments a link is provided to thevideo production. In this example, a link is provided to purchase thefull season of the American Idol television program.

Additionally in this example, the text-based message has also beentagged to a particular segment of the television program in which aparticipant, Candice Glover, was performing the song Inseparable byNatalie Cole. Accordingly, the text-based message is also tagged to thisinformation. The association with the participant, Candice Glover isshown, along with information on how to vote for her by sending a textmessage to the number provided. Additionally, a link to related contentis provided, namely a link to purchase the same song performed byanother artist.

In a similar manner, any content available through the event-relatedmedia management system (e.g., a picture, video, audio recording,article, essay, PDF file, text-based content, and the like) can be madeavailable for purchase. For example, in some embodiments media contentcan be purchased through the event-related media management system. Someembodiments include or interact with a purchase processing engine thathandles the receipt of a payment from a user in exchange for providingthe media content (or rights to the media content, such as a copyrightlicense) to the user.

FIG. 60 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline, similar to that shown in FIG. 58. In this examplethe timeline includes a content volume display showing the amount ofcontent associated with various actions within the television program.The content volume display provides a convenient way of identifying themost interesting moments of the television show, and a convenient way tonavigate to the media content associated with those moments, forexample.

In this example, the timeline includes a carousel of moments below thecontent volume display. In this example the carousel includes thumbnailimages associated with the identified moments in the video production,which may be taken from the video production itself, or from the mediacontent associated with such moments.

FIG. 61 is a screen shot illustrating another example of the timelineshown in FIG. 60, and further including additional event-relatedinformation.

FIG. 62 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline. In this example, the timeline further includes twoexamples of media content associated with moments in the videoproduction. The first video content item is the text-message from SimonCowell, and the second is a text-message and photograph provided byNatalie Cole.

FIG. 63 is a screen shot illustrating another example of a videoproduction timeline. In this example transcript data is shown. Thedisplay includes the content volume graph, and a particular momentduring the video production is selected (7:11 PM). It can be seen thatthere was a huge spike in content provided at that moment, and thetranscript data indicates shows that it was at that moment that thewinner of the American Idol competition was announced by Ryan Seacrest.The transcript data associated with that moment states: “After thenationwide vote . . . the winner . . . of American idol . . . season 12. . . is . . . Candice Glover!!!!!!!.”

The timeline also displays media content provided by users that aretagged to that moment of the event.

FIGS. 64 and 65 illustrate two additional examples of the videoproduction timeline shown in FIG. 63.

The links, buttons, and other selectable graphical elements describedherein are examples of selectable controls. Other embodiments caninclude or utilize other selectable controls.

Some embodiments of the event-related media management system 100, suchas shown in FIG. 1, include or interface with an advertising engine. Theadvertising engine interacts with the event-related media managementsystem to present ad content to users.

In some embodiments the event-related media management server 102, shownin FIG. 4, includes an advertising engine. The advertising enginepresents ad content to the user, such as through the content supplyengine 208.

In some embodiments ad content is received from an external source, suchas through a third-party ad provider. In another embodiment the adcontent is provided into the server 102 by an administrator, forexample. Other embodiments receive ad content from other sources.

The ad content can include images and graphics, text-based messages,audio recordings, videos, or combinations of these, for example. Adcontent includes static content or dynamic content. Dynamic contentincludes changing content, such as periodically changing content orvideo content.

In some embodiments ad content is embedded into another component of auser interface. In some embodiments the ad content is nativeadvertising. In some embodiments, ad content is included in or as partof a scoreboard display, such as within the scoreboard display window626, shown in FIG. 17. In another embodiment, ad content is included inor as part of a content volume display, such as the content volumedisplay 1002 shown in FIG. 51. In some embodiments, ad content isincluded in an event segment display, such as the event segment display1016 shown in FIG. 54.

In another embodiment, at least some of the media content is ad content.For example, the ad content can be included as a media content card 802or a media content display 1030, and can be included in any one or thevarious timeline displays described herein, including a general timelineor an event timeline.

Additionally, in some embodiments ad content is displayed adjacent tomedia content in one of the displays described herein. As one example, aportion of a display (e.g., the CNN Anderson Cooper display block)includes ad content in some embodiments.

In some embodiments a display includes advertising space that is usableby the advertising engine to insert ad content therein. In someembodiments an advertiser pays for ad content displayed through theevent-related media management system 100. In some embodiments anadvertiser purchases ad space to be displayed on a display associatedwith the advertiser. For example, referring to FIG. 58, the advertiser(e.g., CNN) pays a fee to have a graphic displayed at the top of thedisplay associated with that advertiser's television program (e.g.,Anderson Cooper). Another example is the CNN logo shown in the ticker atthe bottom of the display in FIG. 58. In another possible embodiment, anadvertiser purchases ad space to be displayed on a display that is notassociated with the advertiser. For example, a third party (e.g., Ford)not affiliated with CNN or the Anderson Cooper show can choose tosponsor the page associated with the Anderson Cooper show.

In some embodiments the advertising engine provides targeted ad content.The targeted ad content can include displaying a particular item of adcontent on a particular display so it is viewed by users when thatselected display is viewed. In another embodiment, the targeted adcontent is displayed to particular users, or users having particularcharacteristics. In typical embodiments the collection and evaluation ofany such user characteristics is done anonymously without any personallyidentifying information to identify the particular user. Additionally,the event-related media management system operates according to aclearly defined privacy policy to protect user privacy and operates toobtain appropriate permission from the user before using or collectingsuch data about the user or user's characteristics.

In some embodiments ad content is displayed in a pop up or pop outwindow that appears to be in front of other content.

In some embodiments the ad content is a banner ad. In some embodimentsad content is displayed between other media displays, such as in betweenmedia items in a timeline display.

In some embodiments ad content is displayed on or adjacent to ascoreboard display, a content volume graph, a timeline display, or anyother graphical element or display described herein.

The present disclosure refers to event-related data. In some embodimentsthe event-related data is metadata. In some embodiments the metadata isstored in one or more databases and provides contextual informationabout media content items. In some embodiments at least some of theevent-related data is stored as metadata of the media content, such asin metadata fields of a photograph or other media content item. In someembodiments at least some of the event-related data is stored accordingto a standard metadata format. Several examples of metadata formatsinclude Dublin Core, Qualified Dublin Core, and ISO/IEC 11179.

Additional Clauses

The following are additional clauses relative to the present disclosure,which could be combined and/or otherwise integrated with any of theembodiments described above or listed in the claims below.

Clause 1. A method of generating intelligent media content forcontextual search, discovery, and advertising, the method comprising:

storing event-related data associated with a plurality of eventsincluding a first event;

receiving media content items, the media content items including a firstmedia content item;

identifying contextual information associated with the first mediacontent item using a computing device;

identifying one of the events to which the media content item relatesusing the contextual information;

tagging the event to the first media content item;

comparing the contextual information to the event-related data for theidentified event; and

tagging at least some of the event-related data to the first mediacontent item based at least in part on the comparison of the contextualinformation to the event-related data.

Clause 2. The method of Clause 1, wherein the event-related dataincludes event segment data identifying segments of the event, themethod further comprising:

identifying event segment data associated with a segment of the event towhich the first media content relates, by comparing the contextualinformation with the event-related data; and tagging the first mediacontent with the event segment based at least in part on the comparison.

Clause 3. The method of Clause 2, wherein the event segment is a scoredsegment.

Clause 4. The method of Clause 2, wherein the event segment is adiscrete action.

Clause 5. The method of Clause 1, wherein the event is a televisionshow.

Clause 6. The method of Clause 1, further comprising:

receiving second media content item;

identifying contextual information associated with the second mediacontent item;

identifying the one of the events to which the media content itemrelates using the contextual information;

tagging the event to the second media content item;

comparing the contextual information associated with the second mediaitem to the event-related data for the identified event;

tagging at least some of the event-related data to the second mediacontent item based at least in part on the comparison of the contextualinformation to the event-related data; wherein the at least some of theevent-related data tagged to the second media content item is alsotagged to the first media content item indicating a relationship betweenthe first media content item and the second media content item.

Clause 7. The method of Clause 6, further comprising:

providing the first media content item and the second media content itemin response to a single query received from a user due to therelationship between the first media content item and the second mediacontent item.

Clause 8. The method of Clause 7, wherein the query is a search query.

Clause 9. The method of Clause 7, wherein the query is a request toaccess a chronological timeline display of media content items.

Clause 10. The method of Clause 9, wherein the chronological timelinedisplay is a chronological timeline display associated with the event.

Clause 11. The method of Clause 7, wherein the query is an inputprovided to a display of the first media content item.

Clause 12. The method of Clause 1, further comprising providing relevantsearch results to a search query based at least in part on the taggingof the at least some of the event-related data to the first mediacontent item.

Clause 13. The method of Clause 1, further comprising displaying thefirst media content item in a chronological display associated with theevent based at least in part on the tagging of the at least some of theevent-related data to the first media content item.

Clause 14. The method of Clause 1, further comprising displaying anadvertisement to a user when the first media content item is displayedto the user based at least in part on the tagging of the at least someof the event-related data to the first media content item.

Clause 15. The method of Clause 1, wherein the contextual informationcomprises a time stamp.

Clause 16. The method of Clause 15, wherein the time stamp comprises adate and time.

Clause 17. The method of Clause 15, wherein the time stamp comprises anelapsed time from a start of the event.

Clause 18. The method of Clause 15, further comprising computing anadjusted time based on a time zone.

Clause 19. The method of Clause 1, wherein the contextual informationcomprises one or more keywords contained in the first media contentitem.

Clause 20. The method of Clause 1, wherein the contextual informationcomprises a location.

Clause 21. The method of Clause 1, wherein the identifying contextualinformation comprises one or more of: sound recognition, facialrecognition, determining a direction of a recording device, and objectrecognition.

Clause 22. A system for generating intelligent media content forcontextual search, discover, and advertising, the system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   store event-related data associated with a plurality of events        including a first event;    -   receive media content items, the media content items including a        first media content item;    -   identify contextual information associated with the first media        content item;    -   identify one of the events to which the media content item        relates using the contextual information;    -   tag the event to the first media content item;    -   compare the contextual information to the event-related data for        the identified event; and    -   tag at least some of the event-related data to the first media        content item based at least in part on the comparison of the        contextual information to the event-related data.

Clause 23. A method of documenting an event, the method comprising:

generating general event information including general information aboutthe event;

identifying discrete actions that occur during the event;

generating, using a computing device, discrete action data items for thediscrete actions that occur during the event; and

storing time stamps for the discrete action data.

Clause 24. The method of Clause 23, wherein the general eventinformation comprises:

group data identifying one or more groups of people participating in theevent;

event venue information including a location of the event; and

a scheduled date and time for the event.

Clause 25. The method of Clause 23, wherein the discrete action datacomprises:

action data items describing each of the discrete actions that occur,including at least a type of an action; and

at least one time stamp associated with each action data item, the atleast one time stamp identifying the time at which the discrete actionoccurred.

Clause 26. The method of Clause 25, wherein the at least one time stampincludes a start time and an end time.

Clause 27. The method of Clause 25, further comprising sending thediscrete action data across a data communication network as an eventdata feed, wherein at least some of the discrete action data is sentwhile the event is occurring.

Clause 28. The method of Clause 25, further comprising:

generating event segment data items identifying a plurality of eventsegments for the event, the event segment data items including at leasta description of the event segments, and a start time and an end timefor each event segment; and

associating one or more of the action data items with a respective oneof the event segments during which the actions occurred.

Clause 29. The method of Clause 28, further comprising:

generating scored segment data items identifying a plurality of scoredsegments for the event, the scored segment data items including at leasta description of the scored segment and a start time and an end time foreach of the scored segments; and

associating one or more of the event segments with a respective one ofthe scored segments during which the event segment occurred.

Clause 30. The method of Clause 28, further comprising sending at leastsome of the discrete action data, the event segment data items, and thescored segment data items across a data communication network as anevent data feed.

Clause 31. The method of Clause 30, wherein the event data feed is areal-time, near real-time, or historic data feed.

Clause 32. The method of Clause 23, wherein identifying discrete actionsthat occur during the event comprises observing the event by at leastone person, and coding the discrete actions by the at least one personusing a computing device.

Clause 33. The method of Clause 23, wherein identifying discrete actionsthat occur during the event includes processing a text-basedtranscription of the event.

Clause 34. The method of Clause 33, wherein the text-based transcriptioncomprises closed captioning subtitles.

Clause 35. The method of Clause 23, wherein identifying discrete actionsthat occur during the event comprises audio recognition of soundsassociated with the event.

Clause 36. The method of Clause 35, wherein the audio recognition isvoice recognition, and wherein the voice recognition processes soundsfrom an announcer.

Clause 37. A system for documenting an event, the system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   generate general event information including general information        about the event;    -   identify discrete actions that occur during the event;    -   generate discrete action data items for the discrete actions        that occur during the event; and    -   store time stamps for the discrete action data.

Clause 38. A method of navigating through media content items associatedwith an event, the method comprising:

storing a plurality of media content items associated with an event;

generating a volume graph display using a computing device, the volumegraph display graphically depicting a magnitude of one or more aspectsof an event over time;

receiving an input from a user, the input identifying at least one pointin the volume graph display associated with at least one range of times;and

generating a display including media content items associated with theat least one range of times.

Clause 39. The method of Clause 38, wherein the at least one aspect ofthe event is a quantity of media items that are associated with eachrespective range of time during the event.

Clause 40. The method of Clause 38, wherein the at least one aspect ofthe event comprises a noise level.

Clause 41. The method of Clause 38, wherein the at least one aspect ofthe event provides a measure of how interesting the event is over time,such that a moment that is more interesting is graphically displayed ata higher level in the display than a moment that is less interestingbased on the measured level of interest.

Clause 42. A system for navigation through media content itemsassociated with an event, the system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   store a plurality of media content items associated with an        event;    -   generate a volume graph display the volume graph display        graphically depicting a magnitude of one or more aspects of an        event over time;    -   receive an input from a user, the input identifying at least one        point in the volume graph display associated with at least one        range of times; and    -   generate a display including media content items associated with        the at least one range of times.

Clause 43. A method of displaying event information for an event havinga plurality of scored segments, the method comprising:

generating a graphical representation of a scoreboard with a computingdevice, the scoreboard including multiple scored segment displaysassociated with the scored segments of the event;

receiving an input into the graphical representation of the scoreboard,the input selecting one of the scored segment displays; and

displaying information associated with the scored segment of the event.

Clause 44. The method of Clause 44, wherein the information comprises amedia content card provided by an attendee of the event.

Clause 45. A method of filtering information associated with an event,the method comprising:

prompting a user to enter one or more filter criteria associated with anevent and receiving the filter criteria using a computing device;

generating a timeline display of the information filtered according tothe filter criteria;

generating an alternate view of the timeline display, while continuingto filter the information according to the filter criteria.

Clause 46. A method of segmenting an event, the method comprising:

receiving an event feed identifying a plurality of discrete action dataitems using a computing device;

identifying a set of the discrete action items;

defining event segments including a first event segment, the first eventsegment being defined based on the set of discrete action items; and

identifying a set of the event segments associated with a scored segmentof the event.

Clause 47. A method of filtering information associated with a sportsgame, the method comprising:

receiving one or more filter criteria associated with a sports game;

displaying sports game information in a chronological order in a userinterface using a computing device;

displaying a time indicator in the user interface, the time indicatordisplaying the chronological time of the information presently displayedin the user interface;

receiving an input into the time indicator; and

filtering the sports game information according to the filter criteria.

Clause 48. A method of automatically tagging sport-related content, themethod comprising:

generating a media content card including media content using acomputing device;

time stamping the media content card with a time;

identifying an event segment occurring at the time identified by thetime stamp; and

tagging the media content card with a plurality of tags associated withthe event segment.

Clause 49. The method of Clause 48, wherein the time stamp is one of:

a time at which the creation of the media content was initiated;

a moment that the media content was captured;

a moment that the media content was published;

a time identified in metadata of the media content; and

a time provided by a user.

Clause 50. A system configured to perform any one of the methods ofClauses 43-49.

Clause 51. Any one or more of the systems or methods illustrated ordescribed herein.

Clause 52. An event-related media management system as described herein.

Clause 53. An event-related user interaction system operating on acomputing device as described herein.

Clause 54. An event-related media management system server computingdevice as described herein.

Clause 55. A method of certifying media content cards as illustrated inFIG. 21.

Clause 56. A method of contextualizing media content, the methodcomprising:

receiving media content;

processing the media content using a computing device to associate themedia content with contextual event-related data; and

providing access to the media content using the contextual event-relateddata.

Clause 57. The method of Clause 56, wherein processing the media contentcomprises:

identifying one or more data items of the media content;

identifying one or more matches between the event-related data and thedata items;

identifying an event associated with the media content based on the oneor more matches; and

associating the media content with the event.

Clause 58. The method of Clause 57, further comprising:

identifying an event segment of the event associated with the mediacontent based on the one or more matches; and

associating the media content with the event segment.

Clause 59. A method of retroactively converting a media content databaseto contextualize the media content contained therein, the methodcomprising:

obtaining data associated with the media content;

processing the media content using a computing device to associate themedia content with contextual event-related data using the data; and

associating the media items with contextual event-related data.

Clause 60. An event data feed comprising:

action data items identifying discrete actions occurring during theevent; and

time stamps contained in the event data and associated with the discreteactions.

Clause 61. An event data feed comprising:

action data items identifying discrete actions occurring during a videoproduction;

transcript data associated with the discrete actions; and

time stamps contained in the event data and associated with the discreteactions.

Clause 62. A computing device comprising:

a processing device;

a data communication device configured to communicate across a datacommunication network; and

a computer readable storage device, the computer readable storage devicestoring data instructions, which when executed by the processing device,cause the processing device to generate and send an event data feedacross the data communication network using the communication device,the event data feed comprising:

-   -   action data items identifying discrete actions occurring during        the event; and    -   time stamps contained in the event data and associated with the        discrete actions.

Clause 63. A computing device comprising:

a processing device;

a data communication device configured to communicate across a datacommunication network; and

a computer readable storage device, the computer readable storage devicestoring data instructions, which when executed by the processing device,cause the processing device to generate and send an event data feedacross the data communication network using the communication device,the event data feed comprising:

action data items identifying discrete actions occurring during a videoproduction;

transcript data associated with the discrete actions; and

time stamps contained in the event data and associated with the discreteactions.

Clause 64. A method of contextualizing media content, the methodcomprising:

storing event-related data associated with an event;

receiving a media content item relating to the event;

identifying contextual information associated with the media content;

comparing, using a computing device, the contextual information to theevent-related data to identify a relationship between the event-relateddata and the media content item;

associating the media content item with the event according to theidentified relationship; and

associating the media content item with at least some of theevent-related data according to the identified relationship.

Clause 65. The method of Clause 64, wherein the event-related dataincludes:

-   -   a first event-related data item;    -   additional event-related data items; and    -   known relationships between the first event-related data item        and the additional event-related data items.

Clause 66. A system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   generate a graphical representation of a scoreboard, the        scoreboard including multiple scored segment displays associated        with the scored segments of the event;    -   receive an input into the graphical representation of the        scoreboard, the input selecting one of the scored segment        displays; and    -   display information associated with the scored segment of the        event.

Clause 67. A system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   prompt a user to enter one or more filter criteria associated        with an event and receiving the filter criteria;    -   generate a timeline display of the information filtered        according to the filter criteria;    -   generate an alternate view of the timeline display, while        continuing to filter the information according to the filter        criteria.

Clause 68. A system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   receive an event feed identifying a plurality of discrete action        data items;    -   identify a set of the discrete action items;    -   define event segments including a first event segment, the first        event segment being defined based on the set of discrete action        items; and    -   identify a set of the event segments associated with a scored        segment of the event.

Clause 69. A system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   receive one or more filter criteria associated with a sports        game;    -   display sports game information in a chronological order in a        user interface;    -   display a time indicator in the user interface, the time        indicator displaying the chronological time of the information        presently displayed in the user interface;    -   receive an input into the time indicator; and    -   filter the sports game information according to the filter        criteria.

Clause 70. A system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   generate a media content card including media content;    -   time stamp the media content card with a time;    -   identify an event segment occurring at the time identified by        the time stamp; and    -   tag the media content card with a plurality of tags associated        with the event segment.

Clause 71. A system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   receiving media content;    -   processing the media content to associate the media content with        contextual event-related data; and    -   providing access to the media content using the contextual        event-related data.

Clause 72. A system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   obtain data associated with media content of a media content        database;    -   process the media content to retroactively associate the media        content with contextual event-related data using the data; and    -   associate the media items with contextual event-related data.

Clause 73. A system for contextualizing media content, the systemcomprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device, the at least one computerreadable storage device storing data instructions, which when executedby the processing device, cause the processing device to:

-   -   store event-related data associated with an event;    -   receive a media content item relating to the event;    -   identify contextual information associated with the media        content;    -   compare the contextual information to the event-related data to        identify a relationship between the event-related data and the        media content item;    -   associate the media content item with the event according to the        identified relationship; and    -   associate the media content item with at least some of the        event-related data according to the identified relationship.

Clause 74. A system for contextualizing media content, the methodcomprising:

means for receiving media content;

means for processing the media content to associate the media contentwith contextual event-related data; and

means for providing access to the media content using the contextualevent-related data.

Clause 75. A system for media content navigation, the system comprising:

means for storing media content associated with an event;

means for displaying a volume graph display;

means for receiving an input into the volume graph display; and

means for navigating to and displaying relevant media content items ofthe media content using the input.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way ofillustration only and should not be construed to limit the claimsattached hereto. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize variousmodifications and changes that may be made without following the exampleembodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, andwithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of automatically generating tags formedia content, the method comprising: storing event-related dataassociated with at least one event including a particular event in atleast one computer readable storage device, the event-related dataincluding discrete action data identifying discrete actions that occurduring the particular event including a particular discrete action;identifying contextual information associated with a particular mediacontent item using the at least one computing device; determining thatthe particular media content item relates to the particular event of theat least one event based at least in part on the contextual information,using the at least one computing device; automatically generating a tagidentifying the particular event for the particular media content itemusing the at least one computing device; comparing the contextualinformation to the discrete action data for the particular event toidentify a relationship between the particular media content item andthe particular discrete action; and automatically generating a tagidentifying the particular discrete action of the particular event as aresult of the identified relationship between the particular mediacontent item and the particular discrete action.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising generating and storing a text-based messageassociated with the particular media content item.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the text-based message includes at least one keywordassociated with the event-related data.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising generating and storing for the particular mediacontent item a link to other media content related to the particularmedia content item.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the link is ahyperlink including a Uniform Resource Locator.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein identifying contextual information comprises one or more of:sound recognition, facial recognition, determining a direction of arecording device, object recognition, and using data received from animplantable or wearable communication device.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising identifying other media content items related to thefirst media content item.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thecontextual information comprises a time stamp.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the time stamp comprises a date and time.
 10. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the time stamp comprises an elapsed time from a startof the event.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the time stampcomprises a start time and an end time.
 12. The method of claim 8,wherein the time stamp is one of: a time at which the creation of theparticular media content item was initiated; a moment that theparticular media content item was captured; a moment that the particularmedia content item was published; a time identified in metadata of theparticular media content item; an elapsed time from a start of theparticular event; an adjusted time based on a time zone; and a timeprovided by a user.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the time stamp isan adjusted time computed from another time.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein the event is a sports game; and wherein automatically generatinga tag identifying the particular discrete action comprises automaticallytagging the particular media content item with a particular scoredsegment of the game and a particular action that occurred during thescored segment.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the event-relateddata is stored in at least one computer-readable storage device whilethe event is occurring.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprisingreceiving an event feed including at least some of the event-relateddata, the event feed including the discrete action data comprisingaction data items and time stamps associated with the action data items.17. At least one computing device comprising: at least one processingdevice; at least one data communication device configured to communicateacross the at least one data communication network; and at least onecomputer readable storage device, the at least one computer readablestorage device storing data instructions, which when executed by theprocessing device, cause the processing device to: store event-relateddata associated with at least one event including a particular event inthe at least one computer readable storage device, the event-relateddata including discrete action data identifying discrete actions thatoccur during at least the particular event including a particulardiscrete action; identify contextual information associated with aparticular media content item using the at least one computing device;determine that the particular media content item relates to theparticular event of the at least one event based at least in part on thecontextual information, using the at least one computing device;automatically generate a tag identifying the particular event for theparticular media content item using the at least one computing device;compare the contextual information to the discrete action data for theparticular event to identify a relationship between the particular mediacontent item and the particular discrete action; and automaticallygenerate a tag identifying the particular discrete action of theparticular event as a result of the identified relationship between theparticular media content item and the particular discrete action. 18.The at least one computing device of claim 17, wherein the datainstructions further cause the processing device to generate and store atext-based message associated with the particular media content item.19. The at least one computing device of claim 17, wherein the datainstructions further cause the processing device to generate and storefor the particular media content item a link to other media contentrelated to the particular media content item.
 20. The at least onecomputing device of claim 17, wherein the event is a sports game; andwherein the data instructions that cause the processing device toautomatically generate the tag identifying the particular discreteaction further cause the processing device to automatically tag theparticular media content item with a particular action that occurredduring the sports game.